Take A Chance On Me
by FutureStar27
Summary: Seto Kaiba, the young CEO of Kaiba Corporation, never thought he needed anything. He had his brother and he had his company and that left him perfectly content. Then he meets the new student Veronica Warren and everything changes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So for the longest time when I was a kid I was OBSESSED with Yu-gi-oh. And I mean the original one and the best one (in my opinion). I also had an unhealthy obsession with the character Seto Kaiba. Like holy hell you should have seen my room. It was Kaiba everywhere! Anyway! Recently, Yu-gi-oh has returned to television. Not any new episodes of course but reruns of all five seasons. So, to get to my point, I was inspired to make a fanfiction. That my friends, is why I'm writing this now. This story takes place around the Battle City and virtual arc. I should also mention that to my dismay, I do not own Yu-gi-oh or any of its characters. I only own my O.C.s and the plotline of this fanfiction. SO with all that said, read on and enjoy!**

The girl stared at the large, school building in front of her. The wind blew past her face, lifting pieces of her long, black hair. She walked up the stone steps toward the entrance and pushed the door open. Masses of students in blue and pink uniforms were scattered across the hallway, talking loudly and laughing. _I have no idea where I'm going,_ she thought.

"Hey! Do you need help?" The girl turned towards the voice. A girl around the same height and wearing the required girl uniform stood behind her. The girl smiled and brushed a few stray, brown hairs out of her clear blue eyes.

"I'm Tea," the brunette said, sticking out her hand. "Do you need help?"

"I'm Veronica but you can call me Ronnie," the other girl said, shaking Tea's hand. "Uh yeah actually, I do need help. I just moved here from California so I have no idea where I'm going."

"I'll be happy to give you a tour! Come on!" Tea gripped Ronnie's hand and started down the hall.

"I assume that you don't know your classes yet so we'll stop by the office first, then I want you to meet my friends."

After stopping at the office, Tea guided Ronnie down the hallways in the direction of her friends.

"You're going to love my friends. They're the best. Hey Yugi!" she yelled, waving one of her arms above her head. A short boy with spiked hair turned towards Tea's voice and smiled.

"There you are Tea. We were wondering whether or not you were coming to school today."

"Yeah. I just was giving the new girl a tour. Guys this is Ronnie." Ronnie joined their small circle and smiled at the three boys. One boy was tall with messy, blonde hair and warm brown eyes. The second was tall with spiked brown hair. The last boy, Yugi, was short and had spiked, tri-colored hair.

"Ronnie this is Tristan," she paused, pointing to the brunette. "And this is Joey and Yugi."

"Nice to meet you guys."

"It's nice to meet ya too Ronnie. Where r' ya from?" Joey asked.

"Southern California."

"Dang. All the way over there? Why'd ya move?"

"Oh um I just wanted to get to know Japan since I'll be going to college here." Ronnie caught sight of the chain around Yugi's neck and her eyes brightened.

"Whoa is that what I think that is?"

"You know about the millennium items?"

"Of course I do! I'm one sixteenth Egyptian. My grandma used to tell me stories about the millennium items and the Pharaohs all the time." Ronnie pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to show the intricate tattoo of an Egyptian eye on her left wrist.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get blessed with the Egyptian tanned skin gene. Instead I got the Irish gene."

"Quite a sense of humor ya got there. Since we still have another twenty minutes before class why don't we all show ya around?"

"That would be great thanks."

"Well then come along me lady," Joey said with a goofy grin. Ronnie grinned and followed Joey and the others. Joey talked loudly as he walked down the hall with the other three in tow. Ronnie gazed around the hallways as Joey spoke. Suddenly she collided with someone, sending her and the person she ran into backwards. She immediately glanced at the person she collided with, an apologetic look on her face. The person she collided with was a tall boy with chestnut colored hair. His bangs fell into his face, nearly concealing his sapphire colored eyes. He was frowning.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention."

"Clearly. Don't be an idiot next time and watch where you're going." She frowned.

"Alright. It's no big deal. I said I was sorry. No one got hurt so it's all good." The boy's frown stayed.

"No big deal? Is that what you think? Do you have any idea who I am?" _Oooh_, Ronnie thought in irritation. _What's this guy's problem?_

"An asshole?" she asked, faking curiosity and tilting her head to the side. The boy's eyes narrowed.

"Whatever. I don't have time for this." Without another word, he shoved passed her and disappeared down the hallway.

"What crawled up his butt and died? Who was that anyways?"

"That was Seto Kaiba. He's the owner and CEO of the gaming company Kaiba Corp."

"Well that explains why he sprinkled extra egocentric asshole in his cereal today."

"I've never seen anyone talk to Money Bags like that," Joey praised.

"Well no one except for Joey but he always comes out looking like an idiot after an argument with Kaiba," Tristan said with a chuckle.

"Tristan!" Joey hissed.

"Alright guys, that's enough. Let's keep showing Ronnie around." Joey continued to lead the group down the hall, his voice carrying throughout the whole hallway. Ronnie couldn't help but grin at how ridiculous he was acting.

"And if ya look to your left you'll see what we call a clique, definition: a poorly assembled mockery of a social group made up of people who have no lives or morals."

"Would you stop?" Ronnie laughed, playfully slapping Joey on the arm. "I want my classmates to like me and with you as my tour guide they'll hate me."

"I doubt that. Besides, once everyone hears about what happened between you and Kaiba, they'll all be ya biggest fans." Her brows furrowed.

"Why's that?

"Everyone hates him." The way Joey answered her question so quickly and simply, as if it was just a fact of life, made her frown. _Does everyone really hate him? That can't be true. At least one person must like him._

"What class do you have first Ronnie?" Yugi asked. Ronnie reached into the pocket of her pink blazer and pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

"Uh History 101 with Mr. Yukido."

"Awesome! I have that class too! I'll walk with ya."

"Sounds like a plan," she responded with a grin.

"Oh I should warn ya, Money Bags is in that class too." She shrugged.

"Whatever. He goes to the same school, I'm bound to see him sometime." The bell rang, signaling the students to head to class.

"We'll see ya guys later!" Joey called, dragging Ronnie in the direction of their history class.

The morning passed without much excitement. After her first class, Ronnie met up with Tea and Tristan, who were both in her second and third classes. After her third class, it was time for lunch. Ronnie followed her friends to the cafeteria chatting with them as if they all had been friends forever. Ronnie stopped when she noticed someone sitting at a table alone. _Is that Kaiba? Why is he sitting alone?_

"Does he always sit alone?" she asked, tilting her head in the direction of Kaiba's table.

"Ya thought I was joking about him having no friends? He always sits alone." _He always sits alone? Maybe I should apologize to him for earlier and ask him to sit with us, _she thought. _But he was a complete asshole_, another part of her argued. _Be the bigger person. _Ronnie walked towards Kaiba's table and sat down. He looked up from the book he was reading and his eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"Um hi. I'm Ronnie." She smiled sweetly and stuck out her hand for a shake. He looked at her hand then at her, his face blank.

"I only shake hands with people I respect." Ronnie frowned and withdrew her hand. _Keep your cool Ronnie. You'll deal with asses your whole life, he's just the biggest one so far._

"I uh just wanted to apologize for earlier. I'm kind of hot headed and I tend to lack a filter between my mind and my mouth." He simply looked back down at his book and continued to read.

"Hey Kaiba, whatcha readin'?" Joey asked, strolling over with the rest of the group. Kaiba slammed his book down in irritation.

"No, no, no! This is the only free period in school and I do not want to have to deal with you guys during it!"

"Hey guys, why don't you grab us a table?" Ronnie asked. "I'll catch up in a minute."

"Alright Ronnie. We'll save you a seat." Once the group left, Kaiba stared at Ronnie.

"Why did you do that?"

"Well it was clear they were bugging you and I wasn't done talking to you yet."

"You didn't have to do that?"

"I know. Consider it a peace offering." She gathered her stuff and stood up from the table. "See you in class." As Ronnie walked off, Kaiba couldn't help but watch her leave. Maybe she wouldn't be as unbearable to deal with as he thought.

**Well there we go people. There's the first chapter of Take A Chance On Me. Umm hopefully you guys liked it. I apologize if the characters are a tad O.C. but it's my first time writing these characters so I'm still testing out the waters. Also, the ending was kinda rushed and for lack of a better word, cliché and shitty so I apologize for that as well. Other than that, I would say I'm pretty proud of this chapter. Hopefully my main character doesn't seem like a Mary Sue because she so isn't. Anyways, I'm rambling now. So read and review and I'll talk to you guys next chapter. Peace out girl scouts!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alrighty! I don't think this has ever happened. Two chapters in like three hours? Kind of crazy. This chapter is short so sorry to those who like long chapters because this is definitely not one of those. Thanks for those who reviewed by the way! It's really appreciated! I write for mine and your enjoyment so if you have criticisms I do NOT mind at all. So don't be afraid to review and suggest some advice! I wouldn't say I'm an awful writer but I'm not brilliant either so some criticisms and/or compliments are always welcome:P ANYWAYS! I'm rambling again. Go ahead and read on.**

Soon, the day was over. The students flooded out of the classrooms in a hurry to catch their buses.

"Whatcha doin' after school Ronnie?"

"I'm blessed with the joys of unpacking," she answered sarcastically.

"You sure you can't skip out? We were all gonna go to the arcade."

"No thanks. If I don't unpack now then I'll be living out of my suitcases. But I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye!" she waved to her new friends and started walking towards her apartment. A warm breeze blew by her face and across her back, making her hair stick to the nape of her neck. _I could use my Starbucks fix_. She walked through the city of Domino, her eyes scanning for a Starbucks. When she saw one she hurried up to the entrance and went in. Music played softly in the background and a few people were scattered through the establishment, sipping their drinks and on their computers.

"What can I get you?" the barista asked once Ronnie had approached the register.

"Could I get a vente very berry hibiscus refresher please?"

"Of course. Name?"

"Veronica. Um you aren't hiring by any chance are you?"

"We're always looking for workers actually. If you want to drop off your resume next time you come we can review it and get back to you."

"Alright. Thanks." Ronnie grabbed her drink and headed to her apartment. She took a long sip of her drink and smiled. _My favorite._ When she reached her apartment, she unlocked the door and entered. The apartment was small with one bedroom, one bathroom, and a kitchen. Boxes lined the walls and a plain mattress sat in the bedroom. She changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and glanced at all the boxes. She let out a slow, tired sigh. _I better get started then._

About an hour into unpacking, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it a young man with red hair and brown eyes stood in the doorway.

"Um hey Sam."

"Hey Ronnie. I just wanted to check up on my newest resident. You doing alright?"

"Yeah. Just unpacking."

"You mind if I come in?"

"Uh no I guess not." She stepped out of the way, allowing Sam entrance to her apartment.

"It's pretty empty in here."

"Well that would make sense considering I just moved here this weekend."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Doll face." She let out a short, sarcastic laugh.

"You're drunk," she said, tilting her head to one side.

"Actually yes. It's five o'clock somewhere."

"Not here." He laughed and walked towards her. She backed up until she was pressed against the wall with his arms on either side of her.

"Sam. Personal bubble. You're kind of invading mine."

"What did I say about sarcasm Doll face? It really doesn't suit you," he said, touching a hand to her cheek. She quickly slapped it away.

"Being drunk at four o'clock in the afternoon doesn't exactly suit you either."

"You're such a comedian."

"You should leave Sam." He tilted her chin up towards him and brought his face close to hers.

"You really want that?"

"You want to keep your balls?" she shot back. He laughed and stepped back.

"Alright. I can take a hint. I just wanted to remind you that your rent is due at the end of this month."

"Okay. Bye Sam."

"Bye Doll face. I'll be seeing you." He left, closing her door behind her. She let out a long sigh and slid down the wall onto her butt. She sat in silence for a few minutes before finally pulling herself to her feet to finish unpacking. By the time she was done unpacking, it was nearly midnight. She finished getting ready and climbed into bed, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

**I so was not lying when I said this was a short chapter. Well um there's chapter two. Hopefully it isn't as shitty as I think it is. Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Hawaii so hopefully I'll be able to write more on the plane. Until then, read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello people of the internet. Here's chapter three of Take A Chance On Me. I am currently writing this on the plane. Exciting right? Probably not. I apologize in advance for the quality of this chapter. I woke up at three this morning so my brain is a bit dead. And by a bit dead I mean completely dead. Luckily I have my pump up music a.k.a Kesha, One Direction, Rocket to the Moon, Owl City, The Killers, and Journey (to name a few:P) Anyways! I'll just get on with writing before I bore you all.**

The sun peeked in through the curtains, shinning directly onto Ronnie's face. She let out a yawn and sat up, silently surveying the bedroom. She yawned again, running a hand through her thick waves. She grabbed her phone of the nightstand and glanced at the time. _Shit! I overslept!_ She threw herself out of bed, quickly picking up her uniform in pieces and throwing it on. She rushed out the door and jogged in the direction of Domino High. When she reached the school, the hallways were empty.

"Well damn it," she muttered aloud. She hurried to Mr. Yukido's room and silently entered the room. The students were all sitting in pairs, talking silently. Mr. Yukido was at his desk. She approached his desk quietly.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Yukido."

"Ah how nice of you to join us Veronica. Late to school and it's only your second day? Not a very good way to start off your year here."

"I know. I'm sorry Sir."

"We just finished discussing the pair assignment for this term. You're paired with Mr. Kaiba. Please join him and begin your work." She nodded and headed over to the far corner of the room where Kaiba sat.

"Hey," she greeted sitting down next to him. She was about to apologize for being late when his speaking stopped her.

"We were assigned the civilization of Ancient Egypt. We have to write a paper as well as make and perform a presentation and recreate artifacts from our civilization. Are you competent enough to perform these tasks?" Ronnie smiled through clenched teeth.

"Straight to business I see. And to answer your rude inquiry, yes I would consider myself competent enough to perform these tasks."

"You'd better be," he said blankly. "I don't want to put my straight-A average in jeopardy because I was paired with a moron."

"Alright. Listen Kaiba. I know you own a company and for whatever reason that makes you think that you can talk down to people, but I'm telling you now that your attitude is not going to work for me. Since we're paired together we'll have to share a pretty sufficient amount of time together and it isn't going to be healthy or helpful to us in any way if we keep arguing. Now, I'm willing to forget about our differences and work with you so we can both get a decent grade. Are you willing to do this as well because if not I'd be happy to ask Mr. Yukido for a new partner. So is that going to work for you? Can you hold back the snarky comments?" She looked at him, smiling sweetly.

"Alright. I suppose you're right. But the only reason I'm dealing with you is to receive a good grade."

"Yeah well you're not exactly a joy to be around either Mr. Sourpuss so you could say the feeling's mutual." A brief silence fell in which the pair glared at each other, neither of them showing signs of backing down.

"Truce?" she asked, sticking out her hand while still glaring at her partner.

"Truce," he finally agreed with her. He turned his head away first to look down at his textbook, completely ignoring her extended hand. _Asshole._

Once the period was over, Ronnie couldn't wait to get out of there. She gathered her stuff quickly and was about to leave when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"We should probably get started on this as soon as possible. Are you open tonight?" Kaiba asked in his usual toneless voice.

"Um yeah. What time and where?"

"Seven. I'll have someone pick you up." He grabbed her hand and quickly scrawled a few numbers down on her hand. "Text me your address and I'll have someone pick you up. Plan on being ready. I don't like to wait." Without another word, he left her standing where she was, mouth open. _Ugh that egotistical jerk! Does he think the entire world caters to him?_ She sighed angrily and adjusted her bag before leaving the classroom.

"Hey Ronnie," Joey greeted, coming up to her and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"You're paired with Kaiba huh? Pretty rough."

"I'll deal. If he tries that sarcasm thing that he does with everyone else it's not going to work with me. I don't take bull, especially from his kind."

"And his kind is?"  
"Egocentric assholes." Joey laughed.

"Couldn't agree more with ya."

"I better get to my next class. I'll see you at lunch."

"Alright. See ya later Ronnie!"

When the day finally ended, Ronnie couldn't wait to get home and take a quick nap. The past two days as well as the jet lag had left her exhausted. As soon as she entered her apartment, she sent a quick text to Kaiba, set an alarm, and then fell asleep. She awoke to her alarm going off at six feeling a lot more rested. _I better eat something_. She looked in the small refrigerator at the small amount of groceries she had bought on the weekend of her arrival. She finally settled on a small salad. Promptly at seven there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Warren?" a tall man asked when she opened the door.

"That's me."

"Master Kaiba insisted that I come pick you up."

"Thanks for going through the trouble." She followed the man outside and she stopped when she saw a black limo. _What the hell? He seriously had someone drive to pick me up in a limo?_

"You didn't have to come pick me up you know. I could have walked."

"Master Kaiba insisted."

"Well thank you."

"You're welcome Miss." He opened the back door and she climbed inside. The drive was a silent one. Ronnie simply stared out the window, watching the sights of her new hometown pass in a blur. Her eyes widened in awe when the limo pulled up to a mansion. Lights illuminated every window, making the house look like a home that someone would see on the cover of a _Better Homes_ magazine. _Figures that the egocentric asshole would have a mansion to go with his crappy attitude._ The driver opened the door for her and she climbed out, taking in her surroundings. The smell of the ocean filled her nostrils.

"Thanks again for picking me up. I know it was probably a bit out of your way."

"It was a pleasure Miss." She smiled at the driver then headed up to the door. She rang the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer the door. When the door opened, it wasn't Kaiba that stood there, but a boy around the age of thirteen. He was short with long ebony hair and blue-gray eyes.

"You must be my brother's classmate. Come in." He stood to the side to allow her to enter. "I'm Mokuba."

"Hi. I'm Veronica but you can call me Ronnie."

"Nice to meet you," he grinned, taking her hand in a shake. _How is this kid related to Kaiba? They're polar opposites. _

"Veronica," Kaiba greeted, entering the room. "It's nice to see that you are in fact capable of being punctual. You had me fooled this morning."

"Nice to see you too Kaiba," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Why don't you go do your homework Mokuba?"  
"Alright Nii-sama. It was nice meeting you Ronnie."

"We'll work in my study," Kaiba said as soon as Mokuba had left. "Follow me." He started walking in the opposite direction and Ronnie trailed behind him.

"So do you and your brother live in this big house all alone?"

"No. We have a few workers."

"Where are your parents?" Kaiba tensed and stopped walking.

"Let's skip the pleasantries shall we? You don't like me and I don't like you so let's just focus on what we have to get done and spare each other the attempts of establishing a friendship." He glared at her then continued walking.

"Alright, alright," Ronnie said defensively, lifting her arms in defeat. "Sorry. I didn't know that was a touchy subject for you."

"Now you do so never mention it again." He stopped walking when he reached a pair of double doors.

"We'll work in here."

"Whatever floats your canoe Kaiba." The two entered the study. Ronnie looked around at all the books that lined the walls. A mahogany desk sat in the room, right in front of the window. A chaise and a small chair sat next to one of the bookcases. A lamp sat between the two.

"Should we get started?" she asked.

"Yes. We should." Kaiba strode over to the chaise and took a seat. Ronnie followed and sat down in the chair across from him.

"So where should we start?"

"Well one of the other pairs was assigned the Romans so we should cover everything up until Rome's conquest of Egypt."

"Everything? That's years and years of information. I was thinking that we could mainly focus on the Egyptian civilization as a whole. Things like where they worshipped their gods, how they stored remains, and maybe cover a few of the key pharaohs."

"That seems like pretty average quality to me." She crossed her arms and stared at him. She stayed silent and just stared at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to stop being an ass. Are you done?"

"Whatever." She uncrossed her arms and nodded stiffly.

"Alright. Let's move on then. Since we seem to have a disagreement on what exactly we should cover in the paper why don't we move on. I think for the artifacts part of the assignment we should make our own sarcophagus and remains jars. What do you think?"

"Not a bad idea. Maybe we could also make our own pyramid and final resting chamber. We could probably discuss how they built pyramids in our presentation."

"Yeah. That would be a good idea."

After two hours had passed, the duo had finally figured out what they wanted to include in their project.

"I'll have my driver take you home."

"Alright Kaiba. Thank you. I'll see you in class tomorrow." She walked out of the house and shut the door.

"You like her don't you?" a voice asked.

"Mokuba what are you going on about?"

"You like Ronnie don't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. She is the single most aggravating person I've ever had the displeasure to meet. She's more aggravating than Wheeler."

"Then why did you stare at her as she left?"

"She fascinates me. No on has ever challenged me like that before."

"She's pretty Nii-sama." He let out a chuckle.

"If you like the big mouth type."

"If you say so. I'm going to bed. Goodnight Seto."

"Night Kiddo."

**Yay for abrupt endings! Um so there's chapter 3 ladies and gents. This chapter was pretty fun to write despite the fact that I'm running on roughly four hours of sleep. I'll be in Hawaii for a week so updates will kind of be sporadic. BUT I should be able to find time to update while I'm there so expect a chapter or two to be up within the week. So I guess all that's left to say is the usual. Review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Hopefully Seto and Mokuba weren't too O.C. but as I said this is my first go with these characters so I'm still figuring them out. Anywho! Review and peace out girl scouts!**


	4. Chapter 4

**How is this possible? I'm already on chapter four and I JUST published this story three days ago. I'm just popping out the chapters like hot cakes. That's probably due to the fact that I planned the WHOLE story out before even starting to write the first chapter. True, I have decided to take a slightly different path with the story than I originally meant to, but it will lead to the same outcome. So this chapter is just kind of filler so it won't be too interesting. Some stuff happens that causes a build for later on but other than that it'll be a pretty uneventful chapter. Keep the reviews coming!**

After the previous day's tardy, Ronnie decided to wake up earlier than usual to make sure she'd get to school on time. By the time she got to her first class, only a few students were there already. Among the few was Kaiba, who was reading. She walked towards him and slid into the desk next to him.

"Morning." The only sign of acknowledgement that she got from him was a brief glance.

"Not a morning person are you?" she asked. "Well. Anyway. I went online last night when I got home and I found an article from the city newspaper. There's an Egyptian exhibit at the museum. I thought it would be beneficial to our grade if we went." Kaiba finally turned towards her and put his book down. He stared at her as he remembered the last time he went, or rather was called, to the museum. He remembered everything from when Ishizu told him how his and Yugi's destinies were intertwined all the way down until when she gave him the Duel Monsters card Obelisk the Tormentor.

"If you insist on going then we'll make plans," he answered flatly. "I much rather go to the library though." _I much rather not deal with Ishizu and her stupid destiny shit again, _he thought.

"We'll figure it out," she finally said. He nodded in reply before turning his attention back to his book.

Later on that day it had started to rain. Kaiba sat in his limo, waiting for Mokuba to get out of school. Soon, hundreds of young children ran out of the slightly small middle school. Mokuba soon emerged from the school and ran up to the limo.

"Hey Big Bro," he greeted as he climbed into the vehicle.

"Hello Mokuba."

"How was your day?"

"Fine. No different than any other day when I have to deal with those idiots." The two fell into silence as the limo drove towards the Kaiba Corp. headquarters. Mokuba stared out the window, watching the raindrops race down the glass. He caught sight of a girl walking in the rain with no jacket. Her dark hair blew wildly behind her.

"Hey is that Ronnie?" he asked, turning to get his brothers attention. His brother leaned forward and stared out the window.

"So it seems. Looks like the moron forgot to bring a jacket."

"Stop the car please!" Mokuba called up to the driver.

"What are you doing Mokuba?" Kaiba demanded.

"I'm going to ask if she needs a ride."

"No. We don't have time for this. I have an important business meeting in an hour. We can't-." Kaiba didn't get a chance to finish before Mokuba was rolling down the window and waving to Ronnie.

"Hey Ronnie!" he called. Ronnie turned when she heard her voice and grinned when she saw Mokuba. She walked up to the car with a big smile.

"Hey Little Kaiba," she paused when she saw Kaiba sitting next to his brother. "Bigger Kaiba."

"What are you doing out in the rain?"

"I missed my bus."

"Hop in. We'll give you a ride."

"Oh. It's okay Mokuba. You guys probably have some business to take care of," she started, taking note of Kaiba's deep frown. "I wouldn't want to hold you up."

"Just get in," Kaiba said flatly. "You're holding us up by standing there in the rain."

"Oh. Um alright. Thanks." She opened the limo door and climbed in.

"Take us to the house where you stopped last night," Kaiba called up to the driver.

"Of course Master Kaiba." Ronnie wrapped her arms around her body, trying to keep in the warmth. Her teeth were chattering and her lips were tinted a very pale blue. Her leg hopped up and down in her desperate attempt to generate more heat.

"You're shaking the whole car," Kaiba snapped, while reaching into his briefcase. He pulled out a long sleeved, black fleece. "Here." He held it out to Ronnie.

"Oh no. It's okay. I'm fine."

"Take it. This is probably the only time you'll find me being considerate so I suggest you take advantage of that. And I repeat, you're shaking the whole car." She stared at the fleece a moment more and then reached out and took it out of his hand. She took off her blazer and put the fleece on over her wet school shirt. Immediately after putting it on, she felt ten degrees warmer.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just have it dry cleaned before you return it." She simply nodded in reply. The limo fell into an awkward silence.

"So. Seto was telling me that you moved here from the United States. What state did you live in?"

"California."

"Why'd you move?" _Damn_, she thought. _Not this question again. I have to keep my story straight. What was my answer to this question last time?_

"Um I wanted to get to know Japan. I plan on going to college here next year so I thought I'd familiarize myself with the country."

"We're here," the driver called from the front seat.

"Looks like my stop," she said, gathering her things. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you in class." She climbed out of the limo and shut the door before running towards her apartment entrance. _She's hiding something_, Seto thought as the car drove away.

Later on that evening, there was a knock on Ronnie's apartment door. She opened it to find Sam standing outside. He was obviously drunk.

"Hey Sam."

"Hey Ron Doll," he said, shoving past her and entering her apartment. "We need to talk about your rent."

"I should be able to pay you on time. I just applied to Starbucks today so-."

"I need the rent in two weeks."

"What? You said it's due at the end of the month."

"Well now it's not. Now it's due in two weeks-."

"But that's not fair. You can't just-."

"I can do whatever I want. I own this apartment complex. Get me the rent in two weeks or you're evicted."

**Alrighty there's chapter four. So Ronnie's hiding something. Exactly what is she hiding? Well that will be revealed in due time. Sorry that this chapter was kind of short but as I said, it's just kind of a filler chapter. Next chapter should be exciting though. Hopefully that one will be up either tonight or tomorrow. Until then, review! I love to hear your feedback! Peace out girl scouts!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well here's chapter five! This chapter was harder to write than I originally thought. I spent hours typing then deleting, typing then deleting, typing then deleting. That went on forever. It really shouldn't have taken so long to write but I just couldn't make it right. BUT I finally figured out the correct ebb and flow of the chapter. So without further ado, here's chapter five. Enjoy:P**

After school the next day, Ronnie hurried down the street to Starbucks. The night prior; after the small verbal showdown with Sam, the manager of Starbucks called asking for an interview. Her destination came into view and she stole a quick glance at the clock on her phone. _Perfect. I still have twenty minutes before the interview._ She entered the coffee shop and quickly found herself a table. A girl with her hair pulled back and wearing a Starbucks apron stopped in front of Ronnie's table.

"Hey. You must be Ronnie. I'm Tasha the manager," she said, sticking her hand out.

"Yeah that's me," Ronnie replied, shaking Tasha's hand. "Nice to meet you Tasha."

"Well it's a bit early but we could start your interview now if you'd like."

"Sure. Thank you." Tasha pulled out the chair across from her and sat.

"Alright. So why do you want to work at Starbucks?"

"I've wanted to work at Starbucks since I was a little kid. After school every Friday my mom and I would go to Starbucks for a drink and a pastry. My mom and dad actually met each other at a Starbucks so it has some pretty substantial significance to my family. I think it would be a fun job and a challenging one which is good because I love a challenge."

"Alright. What would you say your strengths are?"

"Well I'm pretty hardworking and I don't give up easily at all. I also work really well with others and I-." The sound of a car screeching and a scream stopped the interview in its tracks. The two looked outside the window to see a car speeding away and someone lying in the middle of the street. A small crowd had started to gather around the injured person.

"Oh my god!" Ronnie shot up from her seat and ran outside. Tasha followed after yelling at someone to call the ambulance. Ronnie peered through a gap of people and froze.

"Mokuba!" she shoved through the crowd to reach him. The young boy was lying on the pavement, motionless. There was blood coming from a wound on his forehead and one of his legs was twisted in an odd fashion. Blood leaked from a wound on his stomach as well. The sound of sirens could be heard from a distance.

"Everyone scoot back!" Ronnie ordered, putting slight pressure on the wound on his stomach. She quickly checked for a pulse and found a very faint one.

"Come on Mokuba. Stay with us," she whispered. She could feel her heartbeat pick up as nervousness began to eat the inside of her stomach. Finally, the ambulance arrived. They loaded him onto the gurney and pushed him into the ambulance. She was about to climb in behind him when she was stopped.

"Only friends and family Miss." Without thinking, she responded.

"I'm his sister." She received a brief nod then climbed into the vehicle.

Kaiba sat at his desk, typing on his laptop. His phone rang suddenly.

"Kaiba," he answered.

"You need to get to the emergency room now!"

"Veronica? What are you doing calling me right now with our childish pranks? I don't have time for this."

"Get down to the emergency room now Kaiba! Something happened to Mokuba!" Just like that, his mood changed. He felt his heart stop and fear rise up in his chest.

"I'll be right there."

"We're on the third floor." He quickly hung up and called his secretary on his intercom.

"Cancel the rest of today's appointments. An emergency has come up." He grabbed his jacket and hurried to the front of the Kaiba Corporation building. His limo was waiting.

"Take me to the emergency room!" As soon as the limo pulled up to the emergency room, Kaiba hopped out and hurried inside. The elevator ride up to the third floor felt like it last for decades. When he finally reached the third floor, he located Ronnie sitting in one of the chairs outside one of the rooms.

"Where is he?" he asked. She stood when he reached her.

"They're working on him in one of the rooms."

"What happened?"

"He was hit by a car."

"Did they catch the asshole who did this?" She shook her head. He let out a shaky sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well they need to. How hard is it to find the idiot who did this to my brother? Whoever did this is to Mokuba is going to pay through the nose for this!"

"Sh Kaiba," she hushed. "You're attracting a lot of attention. I know you're worried but he'll be fine."

"He'll be fine? How do you know? The way you sounded on the phone, he didn't seem to be in a very good condition!" He stopped for a minute then looked her in the eye. "What room is he in? I want to see him. I want them to tell me themselves that he's going to be okay!" He hurried down the hall, shouting for his brother.

"Kaiba! Kaiba stop! Seto you stop right now and listen to me!" He froze when he heard her refer to him with his first name. He spun towards her, his eyes cold and hard.

"Don't call me that!"

"What? Seto? That's your name is it not?"

"Only Mokuba can call me that!" He suddenly felt drained of energy. He collapsed onto his knees, his breathing labored. He stared at the floor, his face blank. She knelt down next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's okay. Everything is going to be okay Kaiba. They know what they're doing. I know you're worried, but freaking out isn't going to help your brother okay? All we can do is sit and wait." She stood and held out her hand to him. He stared at it for a minute as if he was actually going to accept her help but then his eyes hardened again. He pulled himself to his feet, without the help of her hand. He walked over to one of the chairs and sat, putting his head in his hands.

"I'll get you something to drink from the café. Any preferences?"

"Coffee. Black." She nodded and left him on his own to think. When she returned he was still in the same position.

"Here," she said, handing him his coffee. "I didn't know how you liked it so I brought back some milk and-."

"Milk and honey."

"Beg pardon?"

"I like it with milk and honey." She grinned. She reached into the small pastry bag in her hand and handed him a small pack of honey and a miniature carton of half and half.

"Here." Once the milk and honey were added, he took a long sip of his drink.

"Thank you for the coffee. I think I really needed it."

"You're welcome. So you're a CEO of your own company huh? How'd you manage that at such a young age?" He just stared at her, his sapphire eyes cold.

"Alright personal question, sorry. Um what kind of music do you like?"

"Again with the pleasantries?" She shrugged.

"Just trying to pass the time."

"I don't like music."

"What? How could you not like music?"

"It's a waste of time," he answered as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Well then you haven't been listening to the right stuff." An awkward silence fell between the two. Kaiba silently took a sip of his coffee while Ronnie looked down at her hands.

"Did you know that giraffes have no vocal chords?" she asked suddenly.

"You're just a hub of useless information aren't you?"

"It's a conversation starter. Now it's your turn. Hit me with your best useless fact."

"Fish can drown."

"Interesting," she drawled with a nod. "Elephants are the only mammals that can't jump." The two continued to go back and forth, locked in a battle to find out who knew more useless facts.

"A baby caribou can outrun its mother at three days old."

"The tallest man was eight feet eleven inches tall."

"A fourth of the bones in your body are in your feet."

"The human brain is about 80% water."

"No piece of paper can be folded more than seven times."

"Oh now that one can't be true! What if you had a really big piece of paper?" she asked in disbelief.

"You could only fold it seven times," he stated calmly.

"Am I the only one who got all these facts from the cap of a Snapple bottle?" she asked. He grinned.

"Oh my God! You just smiled! I've never seen you smile," she said, staring at him. He quickly frowned after she said that. "You have a nice smile. You should do it more often."

"You know Veronica. You're actually pretty tolerable."

"Thanks. You aren't too bad yourself Rich Boy." A doctor suddenly walked out of the room across from them.

"Are you here for Mokuba Kaiba?"

"Yes," Seto said, shooting to his feet. "Is he alright?"

"Hello Mr. Kaiba. I'm Doctor Okada. Mokuba will be just fine. He had a dislocated kneecap and a compound fracture in the leg. We managed to stop the internal bleeding but he does have a mild concussion so we'd like to keep him over night so we can monitor him."

"Is he awake now? Can we see him?"

"He's awake but he'll seem a little drained." Kaiba strode to the room that the doctor just vacated and Ronnie trailed behind him. When the two entered the room, Mokuba was sitting up in the hospital bed. He had his leg elevated and bandages wrapped around his head. The television was blaring cartoons.

"Mokuba," Kaiba said, relief evident in his voice. He stood next to Mokuba's bed, as if he was afraid he'd break him if he gave him a hug.

"Seto!" Mokuba wrapped his arms around his older brother's waist. Kaiba gently returned the hug. When Mokuba saw Ronnie, standing near the door, his smile brightened even more.

"Hey Ronnie!"

"Hey Mokuba. I'm glad to see you're okay."

"Yeah, thanks to you. I heard you when I was in the ambulance."

"We were worried about you Kiddo," Kaiba said, ruffling his younger brother's hair.

"Oh please. I'm a Kaiba. I'm resilient." Kaiba chuckled.

"So are you hungry Mokuba?"

"Starving!"

"Any preferences? I'll grab you something from the café."

"Could you see if they have rocky road ice cream please?"

"Of course. I'll be back." As soon as she left the room, Mokuba looked at his brother.

"You guys aren't ripping out each other's throats. Am I in a parallel universe?"

"No. She's become tolerable. Besides, I owe her some kind of gratitude for saving you." Mokuba raised one eyebrow with a grin.

"Are you sure it's not because you like her?"

"Not this again Mokuba. I have no interest in her or any romantic relationship for that matter. I have you to look out for and that's all I need."

"But don't you want to be happy? Don't you see yourself with a wife and children in a few years?" He scoffed.

"I hate children."

"I'm a child."

"You're an exception. Besides, I knew when I took over Kaiba Corporation that my life would be different than others. I'm happy with it that way."

"But I want you to be happy Seto."

"I am happy."

"Then why don't you ever smile? What are you going to do when I get old enough to move out Seto? You're going to be all alone! I don't want you to be unhappy and alone!"

"I'll manage Mokuba. Now drop it. She's coming back." Mokuba frowned at his older brother but kept his mouth shut.

"I bring ice cream!" Ronnie cheered, as she entered the room. "I have rocky road for Mokuba, chocolate for me, and vanilla for you Kaiba. I didn't know what kind you preferred but I figured vanilla is a pretty good staple flavor.

"I don't eat ice cream."

"Well you will today." She shoved the ice cream into his hands then passed the rocky road to Mokuba.

"Thanks Ronnie," Mokuba said before taking a huge bite.

"Anything for my favorite middle schooler." After the trio finished their ice cream, Ronnie glanced down at her watch.

"It's getting late. I better go."

"Bye Ronnie."

"Bye Mokuba. Bye Kaiba."

"Veronica hang on a minute." She stopped when Kaiba called her.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for saving Mokuba. He means everything to me." She smiled.

"No problem. If you need anything, give me a call." With that, she left, leaving the Kaiba brothers in silence.

**Phew! Finished! That chapter was a pain in the butt to write. But I already had that rant in the beginning. Anyways! I'm pretty proud of this chapter. Seto was a bit O.C. in the beginning in my opinion but other than that I would say that this chapter was pretty successful. I'm looking for a beta writer because despite my meticulous proofreading, I usually manage to miss a few grammar and/or spelling issues. So if you're interested in being a beta PM me! I'm going to try to get the next chapter up tomorrow but if it isn't up tomorrow it'll be up Sunday. Review guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter six guys! Some pretty intense stuff goes down in this chapter! I'd just like to thank those of you who reviewed! Reviews really brighten my mood and give me motivation to update faster *****wink wink nudge nudge* Anyways! Although a lot of stuff happens in this chapter, it's pretty short. So read and enjoy!**

About two weeks had passed and Mokuba made a full recovery. After being released from the hospital a day after the accident, he stayed home from school for a few days before returning. The day after the accident, Tasha called Ronnie to schedule a second interview. That Sunday, Tasha called to tell Ronnie she got the job. Ever since, she had been working at Starbucks six days a week and about six hours a day. It was currently two weeks after the accident and Ronnie sat on the couch in her living room relaxing after another long school week. Her cell phone vibrated on the side table and she reached out to grab it.

**Incoming call from: Rich Boy.**

"Hey Kaiba," she said, putting her phone to her ear. "What's up?"

"I'm stopping by the library to pick up some books for our project. Is your schedule free to finish the project up this weekend?"

"Um sure but we have the whole term to work on the project. Don't we want to take our time with it?"

"We don't need time. We have intelligence. I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow afternoon. Be ready at twelve sharp." Before she could say anything, he ended the call. She let out an irritated sigh and threw her phone down on the couch next to her. _Cocky jerk_. A small headache was forming and she massaged her head in an attempt to soothe the pain. A knock on the door had her sitting up and dragging herself slowly to the door.

"Hey Ron Doll," Sam slurred when she opened the door.

"Hey. I have your rent money. Come in while I go grab it." She walked back into her bedroom as he settled himself on the couch. She pulled the money out of its hidden spot in her top drawer and walked back out to the living room.

"Here you go. Seven hundred," she said, handing him the money.

"Oh didn't I tell you? Seven hundred isn't going to cut it anymore."

"Excuse me? You said when I first moved here it was seven hundred a month."

"Well now it' twelve hundred."

"But I don't have twelve hundred right now. If you give me another week I could ge-."

"I need the money now. Since you don't have the money, you'll have to be evicted."

"No! Sam please! I-."

"Of course. I guess I could give you an extension if you do something for me." Fear started to eat at her stomach and crawl up her spine. At his last statement, he had stood up and walked towards her. He kept walking towards her and she kept backing up until her back hit the wall. He put a hand on either side of her head, boxing her in.

"Yes?" she asked, her heart speeding up.

"If you spend the night with me I'd be happy to give you another week. Maybe even another two weeks if you're that good."

"No Sam. I ca-mmphf." He crushed his mouth against hers, cutting her off. She pushed against his chest in a desperate attempt to push him away but he just grabbed both wrists in one hand and held her arms above her head. He bit down on her bottom lip, drawing blood and causing her to release a loud squeal. She writhed underneath him, trying desperately to get free. When nothing worked, she finally brought her knee up between his legs. He pulled away with a loud yell. Once he was off her, she pushed him roughly on the chest, causing him to fall backwards over the arm of the couch. She wiped at her mouth, trying to get rid of any evidence of him left on her lips. He pulled himself to his feet and glared at her, his eyes like fire. He dove towards her and grabbed her wrist in a firm grip.

"Ow! Sam let go!"

"Get out."

"What."

"Gather your things and get out. You aren't living here anymore."

"No! Sam I have to stay here!"

"If you're not out in two hours I'm calling the police." Sam walked out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him. She fell onto her knees and put her head in her hands. Tears of fear rolled down her cheeks. _What am I going to do now?_

Two hours later, Ronnie sat outside the apartment complex with all her things shoved into three small suitcases and a few boxes. To make matters worse, it had started raining. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep her body warm. Ronnie heard a car suddenly pulled to a stop in front of her.

"Veronica?" She looked up to see Kaiba, stepping out of his limo. "What are you doing out here? What is all this?"

"What is this, twenty questions," she asked, smiling weakly.

"Are you a moron sitting out here in the rain? What happened?"

"I got kicked out of my apartment. I couldn't pay the new rent price so he kicked me out." He stared at her for a moment before calling up to the driver.

"Help Veronica with her bags." He turned to her. "Get in."

"What? Why?"

'Because you're coming to stay with me."

"Oh no. Kaiba I can't-."

"It's nothing permanent. It's only temporary until you find another place to move in. Besides, I owe you a favor for rescuing Mokuba and I hate owing people favors. Now get in before I change my mind."

"I don't know how to thank you," she said, looking down at her feet.

"Don't make the situation more dramatic then it has to be. Just get in and we can talk about the subject of repayment later."

"Thank you." He nodded in reply. Without another word, she climbed into the limo.

"Turn up the heat," he ordered when the driver climbed back into the front seat.

"Of course Master Kaiba." He quickly dialed his home to alert the maids of her arrival and to have them prepare a room for her. She shivered next to him, hugging her body.

"I guess I have to yet again be considerate," he sighed. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thank you."

"Yeah. Well don't get used to this. The only reason I'm helping you is because you helped my brother. Like I told you out there, I hate owing people favors." The limo pulled up in front of the Kaiba mansion and the two got out of the vehicle. The driver brought her bags up to the door and then was released for the night.

"I'll show you to your room. Follow me."

"What about my suitcases?" she asked, flicking her head to her things by the front door.

"I'll have one of my servants bring them up for you." Kaiba walked up the steps and Ronnie followed. He stopped in front of one of the doors down the first hall.

"Well here's your room. Spare clothes are in the top drawer of the dresser and the bathroom is right across the hall." She nodded.

"Thank you."

"I'm going to bed. If you need anything, my room is the third door down the second hallway. Goodnight Veronica."

"Goodnight Kaiba."

**Damn. Two chapters in one day? That's pretty good. This chapter ended up longer than I originally intended but it's till on the shorter side. I already started typing up the next chapter so expect that to be up either tomorrow or Sunday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Review and let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven is here ladies and gents! I hope you enjoy it because this is the point in the story where things start to pick up. This chapter kind of starts as a filler chapter but once it gets towards the end of the chapter, things start to pick up a bit more. You'll see what I'm talking about:P Read and enjoy!**

A couple weeks had passed since Ronnie moved in with the Kaiba brothers and everything had returned to something relatively normal. As the days seemed to fly by, Ronnie became closer and closer with Yugi and the gang. Everyday after school for the past couple weeks, Yugi and his friends had been visiting Ronnie at work.

"Hey Ronnie why don't you come sit with us for a while?" Tristan called from one of the far tables. Ronnie looked up from the counter top that she had just been wiping down and smiled.

"Can't Tristan. I still have another thirty minutes of my shift," she called back, glancing at her watch.

"Aw come on Ronnie! Can't ya take a break for just a minute? There isn't anyone else here." She couldn't help but laugh at the disappointment in Joey's voice.

"Sorry Joey. But I have to earn enough money to get a new apartment somehow. I don't want to burden the Kaiba brothers for too long."

"Why are ya even staying with that snob? Ya coulda' stayed with me Ronnie."

"We've been over this Joey. You don't have room in your house any more since Serenity moved back in with you and none of the others had any extra room. Kaiba was the only one who had extra space."

"Still. I don't know why you're torturing yourself."

"He's not that bad." The bell near the door jingled, cutting the conversation between the two friends short.

"Hey welcome to Starbucks," Ronnie greeted, looking up. Kaiba stood in the doorway. His eyes held their usual coldness as he surveyed the shop. His gaze stopped on Yugi and the gang. His eyes hardened but he stayed silent.

"Hey Money Bags. Whatcha doin' down here?"

"Getting a coffee," he answered, his voice monotonous. "I thought that much was clear Mutt."

"Hey just cause ya got money doesn't mean ya get to be an asshole!"

"And just because you don't doesn't mean you have to be a moron."

"What can I get you?" Ronnie asked, stopping the argument between the two teens.

"Coffee. Black with-."

"Milk and honey," she said with a small smile. "I remember." He stood there silently as she put together his drink.

"Here." She reached over the counter and handed it to him. "I'll see you at home." He just nodded stiffly in response then left the shop.

Later on that evening, Ronnie sat on her bed with her guitar on her lap. She strummed the strings absentmindedly and hummed to herself. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and was about to put the guitar away when her gaze rested on the picture frame standing next to the clock. The frame held a picture of a woman in her late thirties with long brown hair. She was standing next to a man with black hair and Ronnie's light green eyes. Two kids stood in front of the man and woman. One boy and one girl. The girl had her black hair in two pigtails and a big-toothed grin. The boy, who appeared to be younger, stood next to her squinting at the sun in his face. Ronnie remembered when this picture was taken. It was at their family beach house. The family had just returned from a day at the beach and had decided to take a picture. The picture was taken only a few short months before the death of Ronnie's father and brother in a house fire. Everything had been burned, forcing Ronnie and her mother to move to a small, one bedroom apartment. Ronnie blinked back tears that were forming in her eyes and plucked at the guitar strings. She began to sing softly.

"Little boy, six years old

A little too used to being alone

Another new mom and dad

Another school, another house that will never be home

When people ask him how he likes this place

He looks up and says with a smile upon his face

This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong

Windows and rooms that I'm passing through

This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going

I'm not afraid because I know

This is my temporary home

Young mom, on her own

She needs a little help, got nowhere to go

She's looking for a job, looking for a way out

'Cause a halfway house will never be a home

At night she whispers to her baby girl

Someday we'll find our place here in this world

This is our temporary home, it's not where we belong

Windows and rooms that we're passing through

This is just a stop on the way to where we're going

I'm not afraid because I know

This is our temporary home

Old man, hospital bed

The room is filled with people he loves

And he whispers

Don't cry for me, I'll see you all someday

He looks up and says

I can see God's face

This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong

Windows and rooms that I'm passing through

This was just a stop on the way to where I'm going

I'm not afraid because I know

This was my temporary home

This is our temporary home." As she strummed the last note, a tear fell down her cheek and onto the shiny wood of the guitar. She sniffled, wiping under her eyes with her thumb. She got up from the bed and rested the guitar on its stand. She climbed into bed, rolling up into a tight ball under the covers. The sound of an alarm had her sitting up with a jolt.

"What the hell is going on?" A knock on the door made her jump and she quickly scrambled out of bed. Kaiba stood in front of her door in a pair of cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"What's going on?" she asked, covering her ears with her hands.

"There's an intruder on the premises. We need to get to the safe house. Follow me." She stepped out of her room and saw Mokuba and Kaiba already halfway down the hall. She followed them outside until Kaiba stopped suddenly. He pulled on a chain and a door in the ground opened up. _No way this is real_, she thought. _This is like a freaking spy movie._

"Hurry up and go down there Veronica." She was snapped out of her thoughts by Kaiba's harsh voice. Mokuba had already started down the stairs. She heard shouting and didn't need any persuading. She went down the stairs and Kaiba followed, closing the trap door behind him. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found herself in a large room. The room was stocked with a few beds, a bathroom, a small fridge, and a phone. A large television that showed footage of every room in the house was mounted on the wall. Kaiba caught her looking around the room in awe and couldn't help but smirk.

"This is just one of many of our secret rooms."

"You have a lot of time on your hands don't you Rich Boy?"

"Not time. Money. As soon as I took over this company, I knew that something like this would become necessary for safety. Being a CEO of a company creates many enemies and puts Mokuba's as well as my own life in danger. I decided that a few rooms like this would be a worthy investment." She nodded as she sat down on one of the beds.

"So there's an intruder?"

"It would appear so." Her mouth formed a tight line at his sarcastic comment but she held her tongue. A loud bang made the trio freeze. Kaiba ran towards the stairs and peered up the long flight of steps. He looked at the others, a frown on his face.

"They know we're down here. They're trying to get in."

**And I'll end the chapter here:P. I decided to do a cliffhanger because I felt like it would help build up the tension for the next chapter. Also I'm a sadist and like to see people suffer (not really but you get the point). As for when I'll update, the next chapter WILL be posted tomorrow evening. I leave Hawaii tomorrow so I plan on typing up the next chapter on the plane. So, don't worry. For those of you who have been reading the whole way through, the wait won't be too long. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Until next chapter, peace out girl scouts.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alrighty. Here's Chapter 8 of Take A Chance On Me. I'm currently on a plane on my way home from Hawaii. I might be able to type up two chapters while I'm on the plane. If not, I'll at least get chapter 8 up and maybe nine either tonight as well or within the next couple days. Anywho! Read and enjoy!**

"How'd they know we were down here?" Ronnie asked as the banging continued.

"You think I know?"

"Well, is there another way out of here?"

"Having another entrance to this place would be an extreme security hazard. There's only one way in and one way out."

"It's a hazard being down here! There has to be another exit. A ventilation shaft? Something?"

"The ventilation shaft is too small for us to go through. The only thing that could fit through there is a small animal or a child." As soon as those words left his lips, an idea formed in both of their heads. Their gazes snapped towards each other and held. They both knew how to get out of here. They turned their gazes to Mokuba who sat on one of the beds. He immediately understood.

"No way! I'm not leaving you guys!"

"Mokuba don't argue. You have to escape and go call for help."

"But Seto-."

"We'll be fine Mokuba. Just hurry up and go." Mokuba frowned but followed his brother's orders. He tore the ventilation shaft open and climbed in. Ronnie quickly closed it behind him. Only moments later, the sound of splintering wood filled the air.

"Any ideas Rich Boy?" she asked as footsteps pounded down the stairs. She glanced at him when he didn't answer. His mouth was set in a tight line and his stance strong. His eyes were so cold that one gaze could freeze Hell over.

"Don't get killed," he answered as the footsteps grew louder.

"You might want to consider finding new ways of security." They both knew that soon the intruders would be down the stairs and blocking their only exit. He reached out and grabbed a chair. He smashed it into the wall and tore off one leg for himself and tossed the other one to her. A group of five men reached the foot of the steps. They were all dressed in black with a ski mask concealing their faces. All five men pulled out blunt objects of their own before diving for the duo. Kaiba reacted quickest, jumping backwards to barely dodge the metal bar swung in his direction. Ronnie ducked as a bat came flying towards her head. She knelt down in a crouch and swung her chair leg into the leg of one of her attackers. The force of her hit sent the man to the floor. A second man wrapped his thick arm around her neck, cutting off her air. Reacting quickly, she brought her elbow back into his stomach, leaving the man winded. When he released his hold she kicked him in the chest, sending him on top of the man she had previously beaten down. Their heads collided, sending both of them into unconsciousness. She glanced around for Kaiba to see if he needed any assistance. However, he had himself handled. The trio of men that attacked him now lay unconscious on the ground. Upon taking care of his attackers, Kaiba shifted his attention to the surveillance cameras to make sure Mokuba was okay When he looked at the screen, he saw several other intruders searching through the mansion. Mokuba was nowhere to be found.

"We need to find Mokuba," he strode over to the steps and turned over his shoulder when he didn't hear her follow. "Come on. It would probably be in your best interest to not be here when they come around," he said gesturing to the unconscious group of men. She nodded and followed him up the steps.

"Where are all the security guards?" she asked as they snuck across the grass. "Isn't it their job to prevent what happened back there?"

"They're taking care of the idiots inside."

"Does this happen often?"

"Depends on what you mean by often." He started to pick up his pace and she followed close behind him. They stopped when they reached the mansion and pressed their bodies against the side of the building. Their chests heaved as they tried to even out their breathing.

"So I know the plan is to not get killed but do you have any other bright ideas?"

"Follow me." He started running towards the entrance to the mansion. _I thought we didn't want to get killed. What's he going towards the people who want to kill us for?_ She was about to follow him when a strong hand grabbed onto her arm and slammed her against the side of the house. She was about to scream but stopped when her eyes fell on a gun pointed at her.

"Sh. I wouldn't want to pull the trigger." She flicked her gaze towards where Kaiba had just left. She moved her gaze back to the man holding her at gun point.

"Run Kaiba!" she shouted. The man smacked the gun against her face, sending her sprawling to the ground. She landed hard on her hands and knees, feeling her skin rip. She looked up at the man in anger. A thin trail of blood ran down her face from her forehead. The gun was still pointed at her.

"I told you to shut up! Now if I get caught I'll be pressed with murder charges too." Right as he pulled the trigger, a tall figure knocked into him, sending the shot too far to the right and the gun out of his hand. The bullet whizzed by her face, close enough to lift her hair. Her attacker hit the ground near her. The very same gun that he pointed at Ronnie was now pointed at him.

"Get up and I shoot," a cool voice said. She looked up at her savior and her eyes met Kaiba's cold blue ones. "I can't leave you alone for a minute without you getting yourself into trouble can I?"

"I had myself handled."

"Yeah. Clearly." The sound of police sirens cut through the silence. The man on the ground swung his leg into Kaiba's, forcing him to the ground. The gun flew far from his reach. The man pulled himself to his feet, grabbed his gun, and ran.

"Cowards," he spat as he watched the rest of the intruders disappear into the woods around his estate. He got to his feet and turned his attention to Ronnie, who was still on the ground.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine." She picked herself up slowly and looked at her palms, which had been scrapped raw.

"You're bleeding." She touched a hand to the wound on her forehead.

"Yeah."

"Go on inside while I talk to the police. Someone will bandage that up for you."

"Alright. Thanks for saving me."

"Whatever. Just go before you bleed all over my clean grass."

Several minutes later, she was sitting on the couch in the Kaiba living room with a bandage on her forehead.

"Ronnie! What happened?" She turned towards the voice and saw Mokuba running into the living room.

"There you are Mokuba. Your brother and I were worried about you. We weren't sure if you got to safety or not. Does your brother know you're alright?"

"He knows. Who do you think called the police? What happened?" he repeated.

"Just a small scrape. It's no big deal."

"Well I'm glad that both you and Seto are safe."

"Same goes for you Buddy." She grinned at him and he smiled back. Kaiba suddenly came into the living room.

"So what did the police say? Do they know who broke in?"

"If they knew do you think I'd be out there answering their questions?" She frowned. _Ignore him Ronnie. His attitude is just the way he is._

"Besides what I told the police is none of your concern. The identities of those who broke into my house are none of your concern."

"Not of my concern? I'm pretty sure it is of my concern since they nearly killed me. Since my life was in danger it is my concern now."

"They were probably people who worked for an ex employee or a business rival. It doesn't matter anymore because it's over."

"And what if it happens again?"

"Don't concern yourself with my business."

"But it's my business now too. Since my life was put in danger, it's now necessary to insert myself in 'your business.'"

"No it isn't Veronica. You're living under my roof and what I say you follow. It's a huge risk having you live here. Do you have any idea what you living here would do to my reputation if word got out? We're lucky the newspapers haven't found out yet, especially since you've told the geek squad."

"Don't talk about my friends like that. And if it was such a risk then why did you invite me to live here?"

"Because I owed you."

"Are you kidding me? That's the only reason you've tolerated me? Well if that's the case Seto then I don't want to be a burden any longer." She stomped off towards the front door.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. I'd hate to be a burden."

"Stop being so childish." She spun around, her eyes glowing like fire.

"I'm childish? I find that hard to believe coming from you. You're the one who prods people to get a rise out of them. You need to get off your high horse and stop being childish yourself."

"Oh please."

"See! There you go again talking down to people! Ugh sometimes you are so infuriating!"

"I'm infuriating? What about you?" She laughed sarcastically.

"Me? Alright, I'll admit I can be hard to handle at times but at least I admit it! At least I don't walk around like King Dipshit! You're a spoiled little rich boy who throws a bitch fit when they don't get their way! Well I'm not dealing with it anymore! I'm leaving!"

"Where are you going to go? You don't have anywhere to stay Moron."

"A cardboard box is ore inviting at this point then staying here!" With these words, she slammed the door behind her, leaving him for the first time without something to say.

**Damn! Blowout! Ummm so this chapter was annoying to write because I haven't written a physical fight scene in a while so I'm a bit rusty. But it was really fun writing the verbal showdown between Kaiba and Ronnie. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well typing up chapter eight took A LOT less time then I thought. My fingers kinda adopted a mind of their own and in like two hours I had a new chapter. So I'm still on the plane and I decided to type up chapter nine as well. These past couple chapters just have not been Ronnie's cup of tea. I promise I don't hate my O.C. I just had to set things up to get the story moving. Anyway. Read and enjoy!**

Ronnie walked quickly down the sidewalk, her arms wrapped around her body to keep herself warm. _Stupid, selfish asshole_. She shivered as the cold early November wind bit at her skin. _Which way is Tea's house again?_ She looked up at the street signs, trying to gain her bearings and figure out where she was. As she walked, she became aware of footsteps behind her. She turned quickly over her shoulder. A older woman with a dog walked closer and then passed her. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding and smiled. _Afraid of old ladies and dogs now Ronnie? Get a hold of yourself._ She continued to walk down the streets, humming quietly to herself. She passed two men who were standing at the entrance to an alley. Both were obviously drunk.

"Hey Sweetie," one of the men slurred. "It's late. You shouldn't be out this late without an escort. Lucky for you, my buddy and I would be glad to watch over you."

"I'm fine thanks."

"I wasn't asking." A large lump settled in Ronnie's throat. They stepped closer to her and she started running in the opposite direction. The two men started running after her. She struggled to not slip on the wet pavement and stay a significant distance ahead of them. As she ran by an alley, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the shadows. A warm hand came down over her mouth. She started to struggle against the figure that held her.

"Shut up Veronica. Don't be a moron. They'll hear you." She would recognize that condescending tone anywhere. The hand slowly removed itself from her mouth. When she turned around her gaze met none other than Seto Kaiba's.

"Follow my lead." He gripped her hand and pulled her out of the alley. The two men stopped running when they saw Kaiba with Ronnie.

"Who are you?"

"Thank you so much for finding my cousin. She's mentally ill," he said coolly, glancing towards Ronnie. "She gets disoriented easily. If you didn't find her, who knows what kind of scum would have."

"She's your cousin?"

"Did I stutter? Come on Veronica. Let's get you home." He put light pressure on her back, pushing her through the two men.

"Hey, how do we know you aren't making that story up? How do we know that you aren't just taking her home to have her to yourself."

"Do I strike you as a scum bag who screws anything that moves? It may not occur to you but I'm not like you."

"You calling us scum? Alright wise guy. You want a fight, you got one." The taller of the two guys, threw off his jacket and tackled Kaiba to the ground. As the two fought, Ronnie watched from the side, nervously. She saw the glint of a blade and her heart jumped to her throat. _Come on Ronnie think of something!_

"Oh," she moaned loudly, causing the two fighting to look at her. "The world is spinning. The voices are back. They're telling me to kill again!" She collapsed to the ground dramatically, letting her eyes close. _Come on work._

"Hey. He's right. This girl is psycho. Let's get out of here!" The two men sprinted away. As soon as they were far enough away, Kaiba smirked.

"That was nice work."

"Wasn't it?" she asked, sitting up quickly. She pulled herself to her feet with a grin. "I should be an actress. And you should consider going into acting as well Kaiba. You were pretty convincing yourself." He chuckled.

"I have to be good at it. There are times when I'm in a conference and I have to at least act interested." She laughed. Her gaze stopped at the stain forming on his shirt close to his shoulder.

"You're bleeding!" He looked down at his shoulder and touched the wound.

"It would appear so. Scum number one had a knife."

"Well let's get you back to the mansion." She grabbed onto his arm and dragged him towards the mansion.

"Ow."He hissed as she dabbed at the wound on his shoulder.

"Would you stop moving! Of course it's going to hurt getting this thing cleaned. It's alcohol on an open wound. But you could either deal with the slight sting now or the pain of gangrene later. Your choice."

"Whatever."

"I thought you were too big to show emotion."

"Yeah well it's been a long night." She finished dabbing his wound then slapped a bandage over it.

"There." He nodded a thanks then stood to grab his shirt from off the back of the couch. As he stood, she couldn't help but let her gaze fall on him. Without a shirt on, his tight stomach muscles were on display. He slipped the shirt on over his head and she pulled her gaze away.

"I'm going to owe you big time for all the times you saved me tonight. Thank you Kaiba."

"Seto."

"What?"

"Just call me Seto. Since we'll be living together we might as well try to establish some sort of friendly relationship and that starts with establishing a first name basis. That is if you still want to live here?" His last sentence was more of a question. He locked gazes with her. Blue eyes against green ones.

"Are you sure you still want me to stay here? I don't want to-."

"Clearly I don't think of you as a burden if I'm offering you a place to stay. Besides, Mokuba seems to have taken a liking to you so when I'm not able to tend to him it would be helpful to have someone else around that he trusts."

"Thank you Seto. For everything."

"You're welcome. Now if you don't mind I'm going to head up to bed. It's been a long night."

"Alright. Goodnight Seto."

"Goodnight Ronnie."

** Well there we go. Chapter nine done! I really enjoyed this chapter. And I promise, the Ronnie abuse is over for now:P For those of you who are wondering why I've been using the name Kaiba in the narrations instead of Seto, let me explain. I wanted to keep the names parallel to what Ronnie was calling him. The reason for this was because I didn't want to confuse people by using both. Since there is quite a bit of dialogue in this story, I figured that would be easiest and it would be the most clear. So yeah, there's the reason. Anyways! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys next update!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey ladies and gents! Here we are with chapter ten! This chapter was kinda hard to write because I had issues figuring some of the details out. But I figured them out so, there we go! So I was watching the movie The Impossible while typing this. And I was SOBBING. It was SO good but SAD. I would definitely recommend it, but if you watch it be ready with tissues. I went through two boxes of tissues, no joke. Anyway! I'm babbling as usual so let's just get on with the chapter now shall we?**

Ronnie woke with a start the next morning. She looked at the clock on her nightstand. The numbers blinked back at her. _Oh no. What time is it?_ She grabbed her phone from off the side table and glanced at the clock on there. It read eleven o'clock. _Damn it!_ She threw herself out of her bed and started picking up her uniform in pieces. She quickly jumped into the shower, brushed her teeth, and pulled on her uniform before flying down the stairs. _Why didn't anyone wake me?_ As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard voices from the kitchen. The Kaiba brothers were sitting in the kitchen, talking and eating their breakfast.

"Good Morning Ronnie!" Mokuba called when she entered the kitchen.

"Morning. Um," she glanced at Seto, confusion on her face. "School?"

"No school today. Take a look outside." She glanced out the kitchen window and saw a thick blanket of white covering the ground.

"Oh my God! It snowed!" she ran towards the front door and threw it open. The snow crunched under her feet as she ran out into the yard. A light snow still fell from the sky. She tilted her head back, and stuck out her tongue. She stopped when she heard a chuckle. Seto stood against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest.

"You're such a child," he said with a smirk.

"Well considering I'm not eighteen yet, that statement is absolutely accurate," she said. "Besides, who wants to grow old?" She asked with a goofy grin.

"You aren't eighteen yet? When do you turn eighteen?"

"A couple weeks actually. December ninth. How about you? When was the world graced with the birth of the child prodigy known as Seto Kaiba?"

"Are you always this sarcastic?"

"Oh please. You've only known me since August, you should know the answer to that question by now!" She grinned at him. "So, when's your birthday?"

"I turned eighteen last month. October twenty-fifth."

"What? Why didn't you tell me! We could've celebrated it."

"I don't like to celebrate it."

"Why?" He shook his head with a frown.

"That's a question for another day."

"Well then. It looks like I owe you a present."

"Don't be ridiculous. I don't need anything." She raised an eyebrow at him with a grin.

"If you say so." She paused for a minute then looked at him, her grin widening. "Come outside!"

"No. That's alright."

"Oh come on. Have some fun!"

"I don't have time for fun."

"I challenge you."

"What?"

"I challenge you to a snowball fight! I know you aren't one to back down from a challenge. Are you really going to prove me wrong?" He smirked at her and pushed himself off the doorframe.

"You're going to regret challenging me." He slipped on a pair of shoes that were by the door and stepped out into the lightly falling snow. When he stepped outside, he saw Ronnie running through the snow towards a tree. _Hmph coward_, he thought as a triumphant smirk played on his lips. He followed her as quietly as possible. He silently picked up a chunk of snow, packing it into a tight ball. When he reached the tree that he saw her heading for, he peered around the side of it with a triumphant grin. The grin fell from his face when he didn't find her there. Suddenly, something wet and cold dropped down onto his head.

"Gotcha!" Ronnie cheered from the low branch that she had been sitting on. She jumped down and took off as Seto shook the snow out of his hair.

"You're going to pay for that one Warren!" he yelled, fighting against the smile that was forming on his lips. He chased after her and slowly started gaining on her. He picked up another handful of snow as he ran and packed it into a ball. He threw it at her, hitting her in the back.

"Ah I'm hit!" she yelled dramatically. "Woman down!" She fell dramatically to the ground and stuck her tongue out. He stopped when he reached her lying in the snow, smirking in triumph.

"Looks like I win." She suddenly sat up and threw some snow into his face.

"Sike!" she cheered, getting up from the snow. She ran away from him laughing as he stared in shock. She continued to run and he continued to chase her until finally he had her cornered between him and one of the sides of the house. He had a large wad of snow in his hand.

"Alright. Let's call it a draw?" she asked, sticking her hands up in defeat.

"Scared to lose?"

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Then why don't you just admit that I have you beaten?"

"I got you twice, you got me once. I'm pretty sure that means I'm the winner." He dropped the snow on her head, faking surprise.

"Opps. My hand slipped."

"Yeah sure it did. So now can we call it even?"

"Very well. It's a draw. You're just lucky I let you get the upper hand."

"Oh please. Don't flatter yourself Seto. I had the battle won."

"If that's the case then you wouldn't mind having a game night to prove who really is the best at games in this household."

"Of course I won't mind. You're on!" He put a hand on either side of her head, boxing her in.

"Great. The night will consist of three games. One of my choice, one of your choice, and one of Mokuba's choice." He leaned in closer to her, looking her straight in the eyes. His eyes gleamed with determination.

"Oh and one more thing Ronnie," he leaned in so his mouth was right next to her ear. The sudden heat made her shiver.

"I never lose." And like that, he had backed up and started towards the front door. As he walked away from her, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up. She shook her head to regain her composure then followed him inside.

**Bing bang boom, chapter 10 done! I'm sorry that this chapter was kinda short but I wanted to save the game night for next chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was fun writing the little interactions between Ronnie and Seto. With that said, expect the next chapter either tomorrow or Wednesday. I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed. They really boost my mood! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

'**Ello dear readers. Here we are with chapter eleven. Thanks for the reviews again. When I first started writing this, I wasn't sure if people would like this story so all the positive feedback that this story has been getting really makes me happy. So this chapter is the game night chapter. SO with that said, this chapter should be really fun! Wow I said the word a lot in that little blurb. Anywho! Without further ado let's get started with the chapter!**

When she entered the house she took of her wet shoes and placed them by the door. Seto stood at the stove, boiling some water. He had taken off his coat and now wore a black turtleneck sweater. He turned his head towards her when he heard her enter the kitchen.

"Hot chocolate?"

"Sure." She pulled herself onto one of the bar chairs and rested her cheek against her palm.

"That was fun." She looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Did you just use the f word? Wow I never thought I'd ever hear you use the word 'fun.' Is the cold getting to you?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. Probably." The pot that he had been boiling the water in started to whistle. "Shall we make a toast?" He asked when he had finished preparing their drinks.

"What to?"

"To tonight. May the best man win," he said with a smirk while lifting his mug.

"You mean the best woman," she smirked back, before lightly tapping her mug against his. They both took a sip of their mugs, staring at each other with determination. One thing passed through both of their minds. _I won't lose._

That evening, the two stood in the game room with Mokuba standing between them.

"Alright. We'll start with Ronnie's choice then we'll move on to Seto's choice and then finish off the night with my game. Ronnie what's the first game going to be?"

"Uno attack."

"Alright. Well I guess that's it then. Let the game night begin!" The two sat at the table and drew seven cards.

"So have you ever played this game?" she asked, placing down her first card. A green seven.

"Yes I have. And I should warn you now that challenging me to a card game was a big mistake." He laid down a green two.

"Was it? We'll see won't we?" She threw down a red two. He smirked then laid down a red hit two. She frowned and tapped the hit button twice. The machine dispensed six cards. She now had eleven cards and he only had five.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked with a smirk.

"Don't get too cocky Rich Boy." She threw down a red skip card. "Oh. It seems like it's my turn again." She laid down a wild hit-fire and smirked. "The color I choose is blue. Now hit the button." He set his lips into a thin line and hit the button. The first couple times, no cards came out. However, due to the rules of the game, he had to continue pressing the button until cards came out. When the machine finally fired, it dispensed five cards. The game continued for roughly thirty minutes before Ronnie only had one card left and Seto had three.

"Uno."

"Don't think you've won yet Warren." He placed a green skip and then a green eight. "Uno."

"Hmm." She drawled, giving the button a tap. Two cards were spit out. She couldn't help but grin.

"Looks like game one is over Seto." She put down a green skip, a blue skip, and then a blue one. He stared at her empty hands in slight shock. His look of shock quickly turned to a smirk.

"Very well," he said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Game one goes to you. But the next game is of my choice and I'm a top ranked player in the game we're going to play."

"And that game would be?"

"Duel Monsters."

Not long after, the two competitors were standing on opposite sides of the duel arena.

"So Ronnie. Have you ever played Duel Monsters?"

"I used to a little bit when I was younger. But I never was very good."

"Well then. This game should be over quickly." He smirked triumphantly at her.

"We'll see won't we Seto?"

"I suppose we will. The game starts with each of us at 4000 life points. First player to reach zero wins. That sound good to you?"

"Yeah. She put her deck into the slot in the duel disk and he did likewise. "Let the best duelist win."

"Don't worry Ronnie. I plan to win. We'll flip a coin to figure out who starts. Heads or tails?"

"Heads." Mokuba, who had been standing on the sidelines, flipped a coin.

"Heads. Ronnie it's your move." Both players then yelled the familiar phrase. "Let's duel!"

The duel up to the current point had been a close one. Ronnie's life points were at 900 and Seto's were at 1150. Ronnie currently had one card face down in her trap/magic card slot and Big Shield Gardna in defense mode. She also had Element Soldier in attack mode. On Seto's side, he had one card face down and his Blue Eyes White Dragon in attack mode. Lord of Dragon was also on his side of the field in defense mode.

"Ready to give up Ronnie?"

"Not on your life Seto! Now make your move!"

"Very well. First I play the Flute of Summoning Dragon, which allows me to summon up to two dragon type monsters to my hand! Next I'll use my face down card Polymerization to fuse together my three Blue Eyes White Dragons to create Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Now my Blue Eyes, Neutron Blast!" The dragon howled, releasing a bright light from it's mouth.

"Not so fast. I reveal my face down card Negate Attack!" The Blue Eyes' attack bounced off an invisible force field, leaving her monsters and life points untouched.

"Now, I sacrifice my Element Soldier and my Big Shield Gardna to summon my Ice Queen!" Her two monsters disappeared and were replaced with a blue woman.

"That won't save you! Blue Eyes attack!" The Blue Eyes attacked again, destroying her Ice Queen.

"You just activated my card's special ability. When destroyed, I can summon one Spell card from my graveyard and I choose Blue Medicine, boosting my life points by 400! Now I play my Merman of High Tide in defense mode!" Seto laughed.

"You expect me to be afraid of a man in a bra? Very well. You've just played the card that leads to your demise! First I'll play my trap card Stop Defense, forcing your Merman into attack mode. Now, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, wipe out the rest of her life points!" A huge blast of light shot out of the fearsome dragon's mouth. The blast destroyed her monster and caused her to fly backwards. Her life points reached zero as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Well. Looks like it's one to one. Good game Seto." He just smirked in triumph.

"I'm top ranked for a reason Ronnie."

"Well we still have one game to play so don't think you've won just yet! So Mokuba, what game are we playing?" The younger Kaiba brother smiled and held up a box.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Ow! Move over!"

"No! Get your own dot!"

"Ah get your butt out of my face Seto!"

"You're just mad because your gluts aren't as toned as mine!"

"One more word and I'll push you over!"

"Shut up you two!" Mokuba called, flicking the spinner. "Left hand green."

"Oh God damn it!" Ronnie yelled, in frustration, trying to reposition her body. She swung her arm under her left leg, which was on blue, to reach her left hand to the green dot.

"I don't know why you're complaining Ronnie. This game isn't that bad."

"Says the guy whose limbs alone are like four feet!"

"Oh please! Is the pressure getting to you already?"

"You wish."

"Left foot red!" Ronnie let out a huge, irritated sigh.

"I'm just gonna squeeze in right here," she said, swinging her leg under him and placing her left foot on the red dot.

"Oh my God."

"What now Ronnie. I have to say, you're a bit of a whiner when you're loosing."

"I have to pee!"

"Oh isn't that a shame? Try not to think of dripping water."

"Oh shut up you punk!"

"Right hand yellow!" Mokuba shouted over the bickering friends. She twisted her arm underneath his body to reach the yellow dot. Suddenly the two of them started to sway.

"I'm falling!" she shouted.

"Well don't fall on me idiot!" Suddenly, her foot slipped off the red dot and slammed into his arm that was on the yellow dot. He fell forward, reaching out to grab something on instinct. His hands curled around her waist, bringing them both to the ground with a loud bang. When the two finally regained their bearings, they realized what position they were in. She was laying on top of him, with his hands holding onto her waists. Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching.

"Well. It looks like a draw," she said, with a grin.

"I guess so." The closeness of their proximity suddenly dawned on them amd they sprung apart.

"Well. With that decided, I guess I'll head up to bed. Good night Co-Game Champion."

"Yeah. Um goodnight Ronnie." She smiled and waved before turning on her heels and heading upstairs. As soon as she was gone, he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. His cheeks were still stained a light pink. He had never been with anyone before, let alone felt attraction to another person.

"Are you going to admit it?"

"Admit what Mokuba?"

"That you like her."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't like Ronnie."

"The way you acted says so otherwise. I know you like her. Why don't you just admit it?" He knew that his brother would keep pressing until he heard the answer that he wanted.

"Fine. I like her alright."

"I knew it! Don't worry Seto! I'll help you get the girl!"

"Great," he cheered sarcastically. The clock on the wall chimed, letting the boys know it was midnight.

"You better get to bed Mokuba."

"Alright. Good night Nii-sami!" he gave his older brother a tight hug before running upstairs to his room. As soon as Mokuba was gone, Seto collapsed into one of the chairs with a sigh._ Don't be an idiot Seto. Showing emotions makes you weak and weakness leads to defeat. You don't like her. You can't like her! Ugh what's wrong with me!_ He rubbed his temples as a headache started to from. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he didn't have feelings for her, he knew that he was falling for Ronnie.

** Woo game night chapter done! I have to say that this chapter was SO much fun to write. Especially the Twister game part! This was also the most difficult part to write because of the duel inside. I used to collet Yu-gi-oh cards when I was younger and I used to play. However, I haven't played in a very long time so the only recent exposure I've had to the game is the television show. SO for that reason, it was very hard to write the duel. Hopefully it didn't turn out as bad as I think it did. Anywho! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next update (which will probably be Thursday unless I find time tomorrow to type). Bye for now dear readers!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello guys! I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the game night chapter! Next chapter is kind of a filler chapter but it helps the story to move along. So yeah. I don't want to ramble for too long so onto the next chapter!**

The next few weeks flew by and soon Thanksgiving had passed and it was the beginning of December. The students of Domino High all sat in their classes, glancing frequently at the clock. It was finally the Friday before winter break. When the final bell rang, the students all stood up excitedly and ran out of their classrooms laughing and screaming. Seto walked calmly down the hallway towards Yugi's locker as the students ran around him.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" someone suddenly yelled from down the hallway. Someone suddenly collided with him. He turned towards whoever ran into him, ready to give them a piece of his mind but stopped when he saw it was Ronnie.

"Jeez you juts keep getting in my way you dork!" she laughed.

"Are you sure the reason why you keep running into me isn't because you aren't watching where you're going?"

"Whatever. I need to go to work. I'll see you at home!" she called as she started to run down the hallway again. A small smile reached Seto's lips as he watched her run out the doors of the school. He continued to walk until he reached the small group in front of Yugi's locker. The four of them were all talking loudly, with large smiles on their faces.

"May I interrupt?" The group stopped talking and turned their attention to the tall brunette who stood behind them.

"What do ya want Money Bags?" Joey asked. Tea elbowed him sharply in the ribs and tossed a glare in his direction.

"Hey Kaiba," Yugi greeted in his usual kind manner.

"This Sunday is Ronnie's birthday and since she doesn't have any family around, Mokuba and I are planning a surprise party. Although I still don't understand what her attraction to you dweebs is, I'd like to invite you since she considers you guys her friends."

"Alright a party!"

"If you're interested be at my mansion Sunday at ten o' clock sharp. She works from nine to three so we only have a few hours to set up."

"Alright. We'll see you then. Thanks for the invite Kaiba." He scoffed.

"Get this straight, just because I'm inviting you dorks doesn't mean I think of you as friends. Now if you excuse me, I have a company to run." Without another word, he stalked off.

Saturday came and went and soon it was Sunday. Seto woke at promptly nine o'clock that day. As he headed down the stairs, he heard music coming from the kitchen. Ronnie was singing and dancing around the kitchen as she made breakfast.

"Hey Birthday Girl," he greeted when he entered the kitchen.

"Oh! Seto!" she quickly paused the music with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. Don't you have work today?" She shook her head.

"No. I took the day off." _Well shit! Now what?_ Suddenly Mokuba came running down the stairs.

"Happy birthday Ronnie!" he said, giving her a tight hug.

"Thank you Mokuba," she said with a smile while returning the hug.

"I have a surprise for you!" He held up two tickets for mini golf. "Let's go mini golfing since it's your birthday!"

"Thank you Mokuba. That sounds like a lot of fun!" She stopped when she noticed only two tickets. "Isn't Seto coming?"

"He can't. He always has a lot of stuff to do on Sunday. Isn't that right Seto?" Seto nodded with a small smile. His brother was clever.

"Yeah. He's right. I don't have time for games today."

"Alright if you say so. Race you to the limo Mokuba!"

"You're on!" The two raced out of the house, closing the door behind them. As soon as she was gone, Seto let out an audible sigh of relief. _Thank God._

Yugi and the gang arrived at exactly ten o' clock. The next few hours consisted of putting food together and decorating. Not long after everything was set up, the limo pulled up in front of the mansion. The group hid quickly and turned off the lights. When the front door opened, the sound of laughter and talking filled the silent mansion.

"That was an intense game. You can really putt!" Ronnie said with a laugh.

"Thanks! You were good too. It was hilarious when you hit that guy!"

"Hey! It's not my fault he got in the way!" The two couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the angry look on the man's face.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Ronnie asked when she noticed the dark room. "Haven't you guys ever heard of a light switch?" She ran her hand over the wall in an attempt to find a light switch. When her fingers finally found the switch, she flipped it on. As soon as the lights were on, the group emerged from their hiding places.

"Surprise! Happy birthday Ronnie!" The look of surprise on her face made everyone smile. Even the usually stern faced CEO cracked a small grin.

"Guys this is so-." She cut off, unsure of what words could possibly show how thankful she was so she settled for a warm "thank you."

"We're happy to do it for you Ronnie but it was all the Kaibas' idea," Tristan said with a grin. Ronnie looked at Mokuba, one eyebrow raised.

"You had to get me out of the house didn't you?" Mokuba nodded with a smile.

"Usually you work Sundays but you took off so I had to think of a quick fix. Otherwise Seto's whole plan would've been ruined. He's the brains behind the operation." _Gee thanks _Mokuba, he thought. She turned towards Seto, a grateful smile on her face.

"Thank you Seto." He cleared his throat and nodded in response.

"Well since the guest of honor is here, why don't we get this party started!" Tea cheered, turning on the speakers. Music blasted through the speakers and the teens began to dance. As soon as the music started, Seto excused himself to his office. He hated parties. He hated pretty much any kind of event that involved social interactions. The only reason he threw this party was because Ronnie was his friend. _Did I just admit that Ronnie is my friend? What the hell is wrong with me? I don't need friends. I have everything that I need!_ A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Hey Money Bags, ya in there?" _What does the Mutt want?_ He let out an angry sigh and threw the door open.

"What do you want Wheeler?"

"Ronnie sent me up here to look for ya. Why aren't ya down at the party?"

"I hate parties." He went to close the door but Joey put his foot between it to stop him.

"Well its Ronnie's birthday so ya can at least be down there for her. That's the whole reason ya threw the party!"

"Hey Joey did you- there you are!" Ronnie said as she came down the hall and saw the two standing. "Why don't you come down and dance? I know you said you didn't like music but technically music and dancing are two very different things," she said, wagging her finger with a grin.

"I'm not much of a dancer."

"Neither am I. Come on, we'll look like idiots together!" She grabbed onto his hand and headed down the hallway. "Oh! Let me stop by my room first! I want to get out of these clothes." The three stopped by her room. The boys waited near her bed while she grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

"Alright let's go dance!" she said, stepping out of the bathroom, her shirt in her hands. She threw her shirt on and ran down the stairs.

"Come on slow pokes!" she called.

"We'll be there in a minute!" Joey called in response. "Dude you like her."

"You don't know what you're talking about Wheeler."

"The fact that she changed her shirt in front of you means one of two things. Either she really likes you or you've just been level ninety-nine friend zoned."

"Shut up Wheeler. I don't need any advice from you." He brushed passed Joey and walked down the stairs. Joey grinned and followed. When Joey got downstairs, he found everyone dancing and having a good time. Ronnie was holding onto Seto's hands, trying to make him dance. He was dancing, but he didn't look thrilled to be in the situation he was in.

"Come on Mr. Sourpuss," Ronnie said with a wacky grin. "Dance and smile just for today. Then I'll never bother you again!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"Oh you are so funny!" she said sarcastically, pushing his shoulder.

"Alright fine. But don't get used to it."

"I know, I know. After today you go back to being Mr. Serious Kaiba who has no time for fun. I get it! Now dance!" The song changed to a fun, upbeat one.

"I love this song!" she said, her grin widening. As the song picked up, she began to jump up and down. She threw her arms up in the air and sang along with the music. Seto couldn't take his eyes of her. Her ebony colored hair bounced as her head moved up and down to the beat. Her green eyes shone brightly. Her smile brightened the whole room. _Stop it right now Seto! Showing emotion makes you weak! You don't need her. Don't be a moron!_ The song suddenly changed to a slow and steady song. She held her hand out to him with a small smile.

"Dance with me?"

"Oh. Its okay. I don't really know how."

"I'll show you. Besides, it's Journey. How can you not dance to Open Arms by Journey?"

"Okay." He grabbed onto her hand and she dragged him into the middle of the living room. She guided his hands down to her waist then moved her hands up to his shoulders.

"Then you just sway," she instructed. The two slowly began to sway to the beat. He could hear his heart pounding quickly in his chest. She moved her arms up to around his neck as her stomach did somersaults. _Ronnie what are you thinking? Liking him would only cause problems. But then again he is smart, and handsome, and-Ronnie get a hold of yourself! _She let out a small yawn and rested her head against his chest. The song soon ended and the two of them stood there, still holding on to each other.

"Thanks again for this Seto. It means a lot. You've done so much for me and-."

"You're welcome." The two fell into silence and their gazes locked. Her eyes flashed down to his lips then back up to his eyes. They inched closer until they were mere inches apart.

"Cake time!" Tea shouted from the kitchen. Her voice was enough to pull the two back into reality. They both jumped apart in embarrassment. Both of their cheeks were tinted pink.

"Well. I guess we better go in there," Ronnie said with an embarrassed smile.

"I guess so."

"Um thanks for the dance," she said nervously, leaning back on her heels. Before he could respond, she had left the living room to go to the kitchen. _Did we just almost? Seto look what she's doing to you! Get a hold of yourself! _

"Nii-sami you're going to miss her blowing out the candles!" Mokuba called from the kitchen.

"Alright Mokuba!" He let out a deep sigh then headed towards the kitchen. All the while thinking about what had just happened. _Face it Seto. You've done the stupidest thing you could have ever done. You've fallen for her._

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that this chapter is up late and I'm sorry at the quality of this chapter. I thought I'd have all day today to write it but my parents didn't tell me that we'd be having company. And then I couldn't find my notebook with this chapter written in it so this chapter is written from memory. In my opinion this is one of my worst chapters, but what can you do right? I hope you guys enjoy it despite how last minute and sucky it is. Next chapter will be better, I promise! Until next time, peace out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello people of the interweb! So here we are with chapter thirteen. It's kind of crazy considering I started this story what, two weeks ago? Anyway! I'm SO happy with all the positive feedback I'm getting with this story. It's really making me happy! I'm watching Yu-gi-oh as I write this, I thought you'd all like to know that. It's the one where Seto duels that punk of a Kaiba kid that's in a computer. Pft Noah. Little punk. Anyways! I'll just get on with the chapter now! Read and enjoy!**

By the time the last guest had left, it was after midnight. Ronnie said goodbye to the last guest then shut the front door and locked it. She walked back into the living room to find Seto sitting next to a sleeping Mokuba. He ruffled the small boy's hair with a faint smile. She smiled and sat on the other side of the couch.

"I never thought he'd fall asleep. I guess giving him that second piece of cake was a mistake huh?" He chuckled then gave a brief nod.

"As I recall I did provide a warning."

"Touché." Mokuba yawned and shifted positions on the couch.

"I should take him up to bed." He lifted his younger brother into his arms and headed towards the stairs.

"I'll come too. I need to get ready for bed." She followed him up the stairs and stopped in front of her room.

"Seto?"

"Yes?"

"You're a good brother." He nodded in thanks and headed towards his younger brother's room. When he disappeared down the hall, she entered her room and quickly got into her pajamas. After brushing her teeth, she grabbed her guitar and sat with it on her lap. She strummed softly on the strings but stopped when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Seto opened her bedroom door and let himself in.

"I just wanted to say goodnight and happy birthday."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Silence fell between the duo. He came and sat down next to her then noticed her guitar. "You play guitar?"

"Oh um yeah I do. I'm no Carrie Underwood but I would say I'm pretty decent."

"Can I hear you play something?" She looked up at him with an amused smile.

"I thought you hated music."

"Maybe I just haven't been listening to the right stuff." She laughed softly.

"Alright. Any requests?"

"You pick something. "

"Um alright. Let me think for a minute." She paused for a minute, looking up in thought. "Alright. How about Collide by Howie Day? Have you heard it?" He shrugged. She smiled and slowly started to strum the strings of her guitar.

"The dawn is breaking

A light shining through

You're barely waking

And I'm tangled up in you

Yeah

I'm open, you're closed

Where I follow, you'll go

I worry I won't see your face

Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills my mind

I somehow find

You and I collide

I'm quiet you know

You make a first impression

I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the stars refuse to shine

Out of the back you fall in time

I somehow find

You and I collide

Don't stop here

I lost my place

I'm close behind

Even the best fall down sometimes

Even the wrong words seem to rhyme

Out of the doubt that fills your mind

You finally find

You and I collide

You finally find

You and I collide

You finally find

You and I collide." She strummed the last chord and looked up at him.

"Um well-."

"You're very talented."

"Oh. Um thanks," she said with an embarrassed smile. She brushed a piece of her black hair behind her ear.

"Do you know any others?" She was shocked at what he asked.

"Oh. Yeah I do. What do y-." She was cut off by warm lips pressed against hers. Almost as soon as the lips touched hers, they were gone. He had quickly sprung back and stood up from her bed.

"We can't do this. I'm going to bed."

"Wait! We can't do this? You're the one who kissed me!"

"Goodnight." He left her room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he reached his room, he slammed the door and pressed his back against it. _Oh God Seto what did you just do?_

**Well there we go. Chapter thirteen finished. Sorry that this chapter is VERY short but I'm already working on the next chapter, so do not fret! Next chapter will be up either in a few hours or tomorrow morning. Originally I was going to put stuff from next chapter in this one, BUT then that would put everything off track. So sorry that this chapter is short but next chapter is on the way. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be longer and very confrontational. See you guys next update!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Woo chapter fourteen is here! Um I really enjoyed writing this chapter a lot. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

Seto woke the next morning with a painful headache. After getting ready for the day and popping a couple Advil, he headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear Ronnie and Mokuba talking in the kitchen.

"Morning Seto!" Mokuba greeted happily when his brother entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Mokuba," he said, ruffling the boy's hair as he passed. "Ronnie." She ignored his morning greeting and took another sip of her orange juice.

"I better head off to work," she said, glancing at the clock on her phone. "See you later Mokuba!" She brushed past Seto without even a second glance. As soon as she had left the mansion, Mokuba turned to Seto.

"What happened? You guys were getting along fine last night."

"It isn't worth discussing Mokuba," he answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"No. You aren't brushing this off. Obviously it is worth talking about since she was acting so cold to you. What happened?" he repeated.

"I'm not discussing this with you Mokuba so leave it. My life is something you don't need to involve or concern yourself with." Mokuba crossed his arms, glaring at his older sibling.

"Fine." This single word was enough to cut into Seto's heart like a knife. He never heard his brother say something with such anger and malice, especially to him. Mokuba turned on his heel and bolted up to his room. Seto still stood in the kitchen. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. _I just keep ruining everything don't I? _He followed his brother up the stairs and knocked on his bedroom door.

"Mokuba? Can you let me in?"

"Go away!"

"Come on Mokuba. Let me in. I hate it when you're mad at me." There was a brief silence then the bedroom door opened.

"What?" Mokuba asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Can I come in?" His brother sighed and stepped out of the way so he could enter.

"What do you want Seto?"

"I kissed her last night." His brother looked at him, shocked. He had never come to his younger brother for anything, and now here he was talking to him about his love life.

"So what's the problem?"

"I told her that we couldn't do this."

"Why did you tell her that?"

"Because it's the truth Mokuba. Your life is in constant danger. It's enough trouble that she lives here now, but if people knew that were romantically attached then her life would be put in constant danger."

"I think she can take care of herself Seto."

"I can't take that risk."

"Are you sure that's really the reason?"

"Of course that's why. What other reason would I have?"

"Are you sure you aren't afraid?"

"Don't be ridiculous! What would I be afraid of?"

"Making yourself vulnerable by showing your emotions to her."

"I don't have time for this."

"You never have time for anything!" Seto was taken aback. Mokuba had never yelled at him like that. "You know Seto, contrary to what you think, showing emotions doesn't make you weak." He crossed his arms and turned away from his older brother.

"Mokuba." The younger Kaiba continued to ignore the older one. "Mokuba."

"I just want you to be happy again Seto. When you're with her you smile again." The older Kaiba sighed.

"I'll talk to her."

As soon as Ronnie had returned from work, Seto made an effort to talk to her. However, she just ignored his efforts and headed straight up to her room. She sat on her bed with her guitar in her lap. She practiced a few chords, a small smile on her lips. Music had always been her outlet. Whenever she was upset, playing her guitar would make her forget about those negative feelings, even if it was for just a little while. She slowly started to play one of her favorite songs. Little did she know that Seto was standing outside her door, listening.

"Wise men say only fools rush in

but I can't help falling in love with you

Shall I stay

would it be a sin

If I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea

Darling so it goes

some things are meant to be

take my hand, take my whole life too

for I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea

Darling so it goes

some things are meant to be

take my hand, take my whole life too

for I can't help falling in love with you

for I can't help falling in love with you." A knock on the bedroom door made her jump. She placed her guitar back on its stand then opened the door. As soon as she saw who was at the door, she slammed it shut. She quickly locked it and leaned her back against it.

"Ronnie! You can't ignore me forever!"

"Is that a challenge?" she asked on the other side of the door. "Because I'll be more than happy to prove you wrong!"

"Come on. Stop being so childish! If you don't unlock the door then I'll get the key and do it myself."

"Nice try. The keys are in here," she said, jingling the keys right next to the door so he could hear.

"Then I'll pick the lock." She scoffed.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Is that a challenge?" She sighed at him using her own words against her and finally complied. She unlocked the door and opened it. She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. She considered tapping her foot but she was already being enough of a bitch, she figured the sarcasm wasn't needed as well.

"Well?" she asked slowly. "What can I help you with?"

"Can we talk?"

"Oh are you sure we can?" she asked, her words dripping venom. "I mean there are so many things we can't do, I'm not quite sure if talking falls under that category or not." He let out a frustrated breath.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

"May I come in?"

"I suppose." She stepped out of the way to allow him entrance to her room. She shut the door behind him then leaned up against the wall.

"So what do you want to talk about that's so dire that you would've picked the lock to invade my privacy?"

"I want to talk to you about last night."

"What about it?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"No I don't. As I recall you said 'we can't do this' so why are we going to waste time talking about something that we can't do? There's nothing to talk about."

"I'm sorry-."

"Sorry that you what? Made me look like an idiot? Made me feel like maybe there could be something between us? You're the one who kissed me Seto! If you don't want to acknowledge the fact that there's something between us then don't screw with my feelings!"

"Ronnie it isn't that I-."

"No! I'm not finished yet! You made me feel like these feelings I have aren't one sided but obviously they are!"

"What feelings do you have?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Your feelings aren't one sided."

"They sure seem like they are."

"They aren't. I…look I'm not very good at this-."

"Obviously."

"Will you cut me some slack? I'm trying to be honest with you." She glared at him but held her tongue.

"The reason I said that we can't do this is because I don't want to put you in danger."

"I'm not following."

"Mokuba's life is in constant danger because my enemies know he matters to me. If anyone ever found out that we were romantically attached, there'd be trouble. You're life would change forever. You'd be in constant danger. I don't want you to live in fear like Mokuba has to."

"I can take care of myself. I'm not helpless. I know how to defend myself. Besides, when has what other people thought ever mattered to me? Now how about you give me a real reason for why you played with my emotions?"

"I'm not playing with your emotions. I'm only being logical."

"Well for someone who's so logical, you're an idiot. You really think that the 'I'm doing this for you' speech was going to make everything okay? I hate to tell you, but I don't forgive that easily. Now you're wasting my time so unless you have something of substance to say please leave."

"I'm afraid alright!" His sudden outburst shocked her into silence. "I've fallen for you Ronnie and it scares me. The way I feel about you scares me. I tried to run away from my feelings because I thought that would solve my problems but it didn't. I was scared of my feelings and I was scared of how you would react to my feelings. I was taught at a young age that showing your emotions made you weak and I didn't like the way that my feelings for you made me vulnerable. But that doesn't matter to me anymore. None of it matters because I just want to be with you." She hadn't noticed, but as he spoke he got closer and closer to her. He now stood directly in front of her. He grabbed her hands in his own, causing her to look up at him.

"I'm in love with you Veronica."

"I-." Before she could get another word out, his lips were on hers. The kiss was soft and tender. She gently placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back.

"Seto. I can't do this if we can't be something. If we can't be together I don't want to waste my time thinking that we can be." He linked one of his hands with hers.

"If you want to be together, then that's what we'll be." She grinned up at him. She put her hands on his cheeks then brought his lips to hers for another electrifying kiss.

**Well there we have it. Chapter fourteen done! And after fourteen chapters, Seto and Ronnie finally admit their feelings for each other! Hopefully Seto wasn't TOO O.O.C but keep in mind, he had to be at least a bit O.O.C for this part because otherwise he would never admit he was afraid or vulnerable. Anyway! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! See ya'll next update!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter fifteen is here dear readers! Um this chapter was kind of hard to write for me because I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get where the story is supposed to go. This chapter is just a filler chapter, so there isn't much action in this chapter. The next couple chapters will be filler as well, so I apologize in advance for the lack of action in these upcoming couple chapters. But there will be some Seto and Ronnie development (both individual and relationship). With that said, enjoy chapter fifteen of Take A Chance On Me.**

Ronnie and Seto had been sitting on her bed talking for what seemed like hours.

"So. I know that we obviously can't tell everyone but who does everyone include?" She had finally asked the question that neither of them knew how to answer.

"I know you'd like to tell the ner-." He cut himself off, knowing that offending her friends would not end well. "I know you'd like to tell Yugi and his friends but we really don't need this getting out. If it does, you'll be in danger."

"Does everyone include Mokuba?" This made the CEO pause to think.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. He had planned on letting Mokuba in on their secret but it would be unfair if he was allowed to share their relationship status and she wasn't.

"How about we only tell Mokuba, and Yugi's gang?" He stared at her then nodded slowly.

"Okay. But they are the only people we'll tell. The media will find out about this eventually but it would be best to prolong their ignorance for as long as possible."

"Alright." He glanced at his watch then stood up from her bed.

"It's almost time for dinner. We should head downstairs." She hopped up from the bed with a smile.

"Good 'cause I'm starved!"

Once the two went downstairs, they sat themselves at the dinning room table. Mokuba was already seated at his usual spot.

"I was about to come find you guys," he said when they finally made an appearance. As soon as they sat down, their dinner was served.

"So," Mokuba said after a moment of silence had passed. "Are you guys okay now? You don't still hate each other do you?" She looked at Seto with a small grin.

"I'd say that we'll be just fine," she answered, grasping his hand under the table. "We don't have to tell people if you don't want to. I know you like privacy," she whispered so only he could hear. He gave her hand a squeeze, showing his appreciation for her support.

"We're together now Mokuba." The younger Kaiba grinned widely.

"Well finally! It's about time Seto!" She looked at Seto, her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"He knew?"

"About my feelings? He guessed."

"Smart kid."

"Intelligence runs in the family." She raised an eyebrow at him with an amused smile.

"Charming," she said, taking a bite out of her meal. "Are you guys up for a movie night?"

"Sure!" Mokuba answered in excitement.

"I'm going to bed early. I have to work tomorrow."

"Oh please. You never go to bed early. You really think that people don't hear you clicking away at your computer at three o' clock in the morning?"

"Touché."

"Come on Seto. Have a movie night with us. We could watch awful movies and then we can make fun of them. Come on, I know you'll enjoy spewing out snarky comments for a couple hours."

"Okay."

"Alright! A movie night!"

About an hour or two later, the three of them sat in the media room. After begging and puppy dog eyes from Mokuba, they decided on the movie Cabin in the Woods.

"She's going to die first," Ronnie said, pointing to the blonde girl.

"What? How do you know that?" Seto asked, turning to her.

"Because either the blonde one, the black guy, or the couple screwing in the woods is always the first to go. Since she fits into two of those categories, she'll be cut first." A few minutes later, the blonde girl was killed off, earning a shocked look from the Kaiba brothers.

"Told you," she said, taking a slow drink of her water. Not too long after, the movie ended.

"Well," Seto drawled when the credits started to roll by. "That movie was weird."

"Agreed. You guys up for one more? I have the perfect awful movie too watch and I know it's mock worthy this time because I've seen it before."

"What movie?"

"Spy Kids 4." The trio laughed and made jokes the whole movie. Even the usually stern CEO seemed to be enjoying himself. Once the credits rolled by, Ronnie stood up with a yawn. She glanced at the clock on the wall and stretched.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm exhausted. I'm going to sleep."

"You better go too Mokuba. It's getting late." Mokuba nodded.

"Okay. Goodnight Seto! Goodnight Ronnie!" He gave them both a hug then headed up the stairs.

"Okay. Your brother is adorable," Ronnie laughed.

"He means everything to me." She smiled at him.

"You're a good brother."

"So I've been told," he said with a smirk.

"Well. I'm going up to bed. I'll see you after work tomorrow."

"Goodnight Ronnie."

"Night Seto." She gave him a peck on the cheek then headed upstairs.

Ronnie awoke the next morning to her cell phone ringing. She groaned and rolled over, grabbing her phone off the nightstand.

"Hello," she answered groggily.

"Hey Ronnie, it's Tea."

"Oh hey Tea. What's up?"

"The gang and I were going to go to the mall to start Christmas shopping. Since you have off work today do you want to come with us?"

"Sure." She suddenly remembered that it would be Mokuba and her alone all day. "Could Mokuba come too?"

"Sure. We'll meet you guys there in an hour okay?"

"Okay. See you there."

An hour later, the Kaiba's' limo pulled up to the mall and Mokuba and Ronnie hopped out.

"Ronnie! Mokuba!" Tea called, waving a hand over her head.

"Hey guys," Ronnie greeted upon reaching her group of friends.

"Hey Joey! You owe Tristan twenty bucks!" Joey looked at Ronnie.

"No way," he said in disbelief.

"Um. Can I help you Joey?"

"You and Kaiba?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod and an embarrassed smile. "Wait. You guys made a bet on when we'd get together?"

"Yeah. Tristan thought Kaiba would break and tell ya before Christmas but I thought for sure he'd wait until da new year." Joey sighed and handed twenty dollars to Tristan.

"When did you make this bet exactly?" she asked, turning her head to the side.

"At your birthday when you and Seto were dancing in the living room," Mokuba answered. _Apparently trying to be subtle with my feelings didn't work._

"So it was that obvious?"

"Oh please, I can read you like a book Ronnie," Joey answered with a laugh.

"Well, now that you guys know, you have to promise to keep it on the down low. Although I don't really care who knows about our relationship status, Seto wants privacy and I need to respect that."

"Of course we'll keep it a secret Ronnie," Yugi said with a smile and a nod. "You're secret's safe with us!"

"Thanks." She clapped her hands together and grinned broadly. "Well. All seriousness aside, let's get started with the point of this venture shall we?" The group walked around the mall, talking loudly and laughing. Ronnie stopped at the windows of one of the stores and peered in. The walls were lined with different Duel Monsters memorabilia. Duel disks were stacked on shelves on the back wall. _Maybe I can find a present for Seto in here._

"This store looks cool. Let's stop in here." She walked through the door, earning a small ringing noise from the bells mounted above the door. The gang followed her inside.

"Can I help you with anything?" the woman behind the register asked.

"I'm just looking thanks," Ronnie answered with a smile. On one of the walls, there was a long, glass case. Hundreds of different shiny pins sat inside the glass confinement. Ronnie's gaze stopped on one pin in particular. The pin was shaped like a dragon. The Blue Eyes White Dragon to be exact. It was clear that the body was made out of sterling silver and the eyes of the pin were sapphires.

"Excuse me. How much is this pin?" she asked, turning towards the woman behind the register. The woman crossed to where Ronnie was standing and looked at the pin she was pointing to.

"The Blue Eyes White Dragon one? That one is about four-hundred dollars." Ronnie was suddenly very happy with the fact that she had gotten a job early on. After a couple months working six hours a day, six days a week, she had plenty to get the pin.

"I'll take it."

By the time Seto got home that evening, it was after one in the morning. The worst part was, his night wasn't even close to being over. He still had a lot of work to do when he returned home. When he walked through the front door, he heard the television blaring in the living room. Upon entering the room, he found Ronnie sleeping soundly on the couch. _Did she wait up for me?_ He didn't want to wake her and if he carried her upstairs it was very likely that she would do just that. He grabbed the blanket from off the back of the couch and draped it over her. He turned off the television before placing a light kiss on his new girlfriends forehead. As soon as he reached his office, he shut the door and let out a heavy sigh. He stared out his window as his mind wandered. Before he met Ronnie, he didn't need anyone except his brother. He certainly was not as open with his emotions as he was now. He even smiled now. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled before Ronnie came along. He couldn't help but ask himself what had changed? Why had Ronnie changed him so much? He was supposed to be cold, distant. He wasn't supposed to show his emotions to anyone. Why had Ronnie gotten him to do exactly the opposite of what he was taught? A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in." The door opened and Ronnie entered, the blanket still wrapped around her body.

"Did you just get back?"

"Not too long ago."

"Long day huh?"

"Long days are to be expected when the people who work for you are idiots." She picked up on his sour mood immediately and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't want to bore you," he said with a small smirk. "Besides, it's late. I don't want to keep you up."

"Exactly, so you should get to bed too."

"I have work to do." She knew that convincing him to go to bed when he still had work to do was useless so she gave up.

"Okay. Goodnight." She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He turned towards her and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Goodnight Ronnie." She kissed him lightly on the nose then left him alone to work. There was no doubt about it; Ronnie had changed him.

By the time Ronnie woke up the next morning, Seto had already left for work. As soon as she got to work, Tasha approached her.

"Hey Ronnie. This was dropped off for you earlier this morning." She held out an envelope to Ronnie. The envelope was blank except for Ronnie's name written across the middle.

"Thanks Tasha." She grabbed the envelope from Tasha and put it in her apron pocket. She'd save opening the letter for later. The workday was long and busy and by the time Ronnie got home, she had almost forgotten about the letter. She sat down on the couch in the living and ripped the envelope open. Although the letter inside only consisted of five words, the words were enough to make her heart stop and her blood run cold. **I know where you are.**

** Well there we go! That was a PAIN IN THE BUTT to write. As I said, it was just a filler chapter so it was probably kind of boring. By the way, the bolded part at the end is what the letter said. I was going to italicize that part but then I figured bolding it would be better since so far italics have been thoughts. The secrets about Ronnie's past will start to reveal themselves in the next couple chapters so that should be exciting. I guess that's about all I have to say for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it despite the lack of action!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey there everybody! Here's chapter sixteen. I'm watching The 25****th**** Anniversary Phantom of the Opera as I type this. I can't even describe my feelings right now. Ramin Karimloo is a GOD! So inspiration for later on in this chapter comes from watching The Phantom of the Opera. You'll see what I mean when it gets to that part. OH and I should also add that the time that this story is set has changed. Originally it was happening during Battle City but then I'm like…uh wait…school and work wouldn't be happening if it was Battle City. So sorry it took me sixteen chapters to realize that:P Anyways! Now the time is set to AFTER Battle City, but before all the drama with Dartz. Anyways, that's all I need to say. Read and enjoy!**

Despite the fact that ignoring the letter went against her gut instinct, Ronnie decided to do just that. There was no name at the bottom of the letter so it was likely that it was just someone's idea of a prank. A sick prank, but a prank nonetheless. It couldn't be _him. _Upon opening the letter, she hid it in one of her dresser drawers. She didn't want anyone to find it and become alarmed. As the Christmas holiday drew closer, the citizens of Domino became more and more busy. The streets were almost always crowded with shoppers looking for gifts for their loved ones. The city had been decorated beautifully for the holiday season. A large Christmas tree stood in the town's main square and almost every house was decked out with fluorescent green, red, and white lights. The Saturday following receiving the letter; Ronnie, after a couple days worth of pleading, finally convinced Seto to allow her to decorate the mansion.

"You know, we have people who can do the decorating for us," Seto called up to Ronnie. She looked down at him from her position on the ladder with a small frown.

"Don't be a Scrooge. Decorating is the best part of the holiday season!"

"Oh yeah. Dealing with all the bustling crowds and eating one's own weight in fattening food sounds so exhilarating." He couldn't hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Well Bah Humbug to you too." She started climbing down the ladder to grab more lights to hang up. "What do you have against this holiday anyways?" He stayed silent so she dropped the subject, knowing that trying to pry would only sour his mood even more. The snow, that had previously been falling lightly, now started to fall roughly.

"I guess it's time to take a break. Would you help me carry in the boxes so the rest of the lights don't get wet?" Without a word, he knelt down and picked up one of the two remaining boxes that were filled with lights. Once inside, the snow outside started to pick up more and more. She moved the curtain and peered out one of the windows by the door.

"Looks like a pretty rough storm. I guess the rest of the decorating will have to wait." He nodded in agreement then walked into the kitchen. She grabbed her sweatshirt from off the coat rack near the door before following him.

"I'm making tea. Would you like some?" he asked as he started to boil the water.

"Sure." She threw her oversized hoodie over her head and couldn't help but smile at the warmth it brought.

"I told you to wear a coat out there." She stuck out her tongue with a small grin.

"Just brew your tea Rich Boy." A couple minutes later, the teakettle began to whistle. After filling two mugs, Seto took a seat next to Ronnie at the kitchen table.

"Thanks," she said as she took the mug from him. She took a slow sip, savoring the sweet taste of the tea. After a few minutes of talking, the lights began to flicker then went out. He released a low sigh and felt his way to one of the kitchen drawers.

"Looks like the storm knocked out the power," he said as he pulled a flashlight out of one of the drawers and turned it on.

"Tis the season," she said sarcastically.

"You're optimism is exhilarating."

"You're lucky I like you, otherwise I'd hold you underwater until you stopped kicking," she snapped, failing to hide the grin that was forming.

"Well seeing as we'll be living as the Amish do for a while, what should we do to pass the time?"

"The Amish don't have flashlights," she pointed out with a smug grin. Before she knew what was happening, he had her trapped between the kitchen table and him.

"Are you finished being a smart ass?"

"Are you finished being a dumb ass?"

"You think you have a good sense of humor?"

"That's what I've been told."

"Well." He paused to move his mouth next to her ear. "I hate to tell you but your sense of humor is pretty dry." She shivered when his warm breath tickled her ear and neck.

"Coming from the usually humorless CEO I find that hard to be-." Suddenly, his soft lips were on hers, cutting off her words. He parted from her with a grin, knowing that he had won that battle.

"Do you want to watch a movie on my laptop?" She asked, moving her hands down to grasp his.

"Sure." They in settled on the couch in the living room with her laptop and The 25th Anniversary Phantom of the Opera.

"I didn't know you liked this show."

"It's one of my favorites. I know pretty much every word by heart. And Ramin Karimloo's vocal chords are made out of solid gold."

"Have you ever seen it live?"

"I wish! I've always wanted to see it in New York but we never had the time or money to see it." Her words got his mind working. Up until that point, he had no idea what to get her for Christmas. But after she said those words, he knew the perfect gift to get her.

Another couple days passed and to Ronnie's intense relief, she had not received another letter from her mystery tormentor. She walked into work at nine o'clock with a large smile on her face.

"Good morning Tasha."

"Morning Ronnie. Oh, this was here for you this morning." Tasha held out a white envelope. Ronnie's heart stopped and a huge lump settled in her throat.

"Oh. Thanks." She couldn't stop her voice from wavering slightly.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Just got a chill is all." She took the envelope from Tasha and put it in the pocket of her apron. _This can't be happening. This has to be a prank. There's no way he found me._ Ronnie tried to brush off the letter and continue on with the workday. Although she did manage to make it through her shift, Tasha could tell something was off about her. Before Ronnie left, Tasha stopped her.

"What's going on Ronnie?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I won't pry, but I'm worried about you." Ronnie put on her best fake smile.

"You don't need to worry about me. I just haven't been sleeping well is all."

"Okay. Well if you need an ear, I'm here to listen."

"Thanks Tasha. I'll see you tomorrow."

As soon as Ronnie got back to the mansion, she hurried up to her room and locked the door. Her hands shook violently as she tore open the envelope. **You thought running away would solve your problems? You should know by now that I always get what I want. You're no different.** She couldn't stop the tears of fear from forming in her eyes. She blinked rapidly to try to get rid of them but they persisted. She now knew for sure that these letters were coming from _him. _He had found her. She didn't know how he found her but he did. _I have to tell someone now_, she thought. A knock on her bedroom door had her jumping out of her skin.

"Come in." The door opened and Seto walked through. As soon as she saw him, the tears that she had finally fought back started to form again. She covered the distance between them and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest.

"Ronnie? Veronica what's wrong?" he asked, his eyes wide with worry.

"He found me," she said frantically. Her whole body was shaking in fear. He grabbed onto her shoulders and pushed her back so he could see her face.

"What are you talking about? Who found you?"

"Tony."

** Um okay. Well that chapter sucked majorly. It took me FOREVER to write this chapter. I just COULDN'T make it right. This is literally like the sixth or seventh draft and I'm still not happy with it. But, I wanted to get something up since it's been like four days so I'm going to have to live with it. Hopefully this chapter didn't turn out as bad as I think it did! See you guys next update!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's chapter seventeen people! This chapter is a bit more action-y then the couple previous ones were. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! And don't worry, things will reveal themselves soon! Before I end this author's note, I'd like to thank all the people who have been reading, adding my story to their favorites, following, and reviewing my story. As I said before, I definitely did not think people would like my story. And although twenty reviews don't seem like that much compared to some stories on here, they mean SO much to me. I'm glad that people are enjoying my story and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint Oh and as for the other previous chapters, I was reading through them and I found a few mistakes, so once this story is finished, I'm going to go through and edit all the chapters. If anyone wants to beta, PM me!**

Seto looked at her, his usually cold, blue eyes filled with concern.

"Tony? Who's Tony?" Ronnie swallowed. She knew eventually that she'd have to tell someone about her past. She knew that no matter how hard she tried to keep it a secret, she'd have to share her real reason for moving to Japan. _There's nothing you can do now. You have to spill the beans_, she thought. _No! Don't! He'll hate you forever! You can't tell him the truth!_ Her mind and her conscience fought back and forth. She knew she should tell him, but how could you tell someone something like what she was hiding?

"He's my boyfriend. Well ex-boyfriend now." _Great going. Have fun digging yourself out of this lie, idiot._ "He's the real reason I moved here." _Well that part isn't a lie._

"You moved here because of a guy? I'm happy you moved here but why would you let him make you leave everything behind?"

"He wouldn't leave me alone. He still won't leave me alone." She walked to her dresser and opened the drawer where the previous letter presided. She pulled it out and handed the two letters to Seto. As he read the letters, his eyes became colder and colder.

"Ronnie, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I didn't want to worry you. At first I thought it was just a prank but then I got the second one and-." She stopped talking, the fear taking over her again.

"So he's approached you?"

"No. I haven't seen him here."

"Then where did you get these letters?"

"From work. When I came into work a bit more than a week ago, Tasha said that a letter had been left for me. The same thing happened this morning."

"We'll find out who sent these to you. I'm not saying I don't believe you-."

"I understand. It's hard to know for sure if these are from him without knowing for sure if he's even in this country."

"Does your workplace have video cameras?"

"No, but there's a traffic camera with Starbucks right in view."

"Grab a coat," he said, heading towards the door of her room.

"What? Why?"

"We're going down to the police station. We're going to ask to see the traffic tapes from today and a week ago."

"And how long have you been receiving these letters for?" Officer Kiyoshi-the officer that was currently on duty-asked. Seto and Ronnie now sat in the police station. Ronnie had her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She was clasping her hands so tightly that her knuckles had started to turn white.

"This is the second letter I've gotten. I got one last week and one today so two weeks I guess."

"Why didn't you come to us after the first letter?"

"I thought it was a prank.

"Not telling us put yourself and possibly others in danger. Whether or not you thought it was fake or not, you should have come to us immediately." She nodded slowly. She knew that the verbal retribution was necessary, but that didn't stop her from being embarrassed. She hated looking like an idiot and that is exactly what she looked like now.

"Now come with me and I'll show you the tapes. Usually I wouldn't do this but because these letters seem very legitimate then I'll make an exception." Officer Kiyoshi started to play the footage from that day, as well as from a week ago. The video caught very clear footage of a tall man with red hair, sneaking towards the coffee store. When the man turned around to retreat, Ronnie froze. She'd know those cold, brown eyes anywhere.

"Oh my God. That's Sam!"

After explaining the whole Sam situation to Officer Kiyoshi, a police car was sent to Sam's apartment. Ronnie watched in fear as her tormentor was cuffed and then loaded into the back of the police car. A sinister smirk was spread across his rough features. He enjoyed making her feel vulnerable. That fact alone sent a chill up her spine. The ride back to the mansion was completely silent. Seto looked at her with nothing but concern. She hadn't said a single word since she watched the police car drive away.

"Ronnie? Are you okay?" Seto asked as soon as they had walked through the front door of the mansion.

"Yeah. Of course I am." Despite her hardest efforts, she couldn't hide the uncertainty from her voice. She walked to the living room and collapsed onto the couch, letting out a heavy sigh. He sat next to her and took her hands in his.

"Why didn't you tell me about Sam earlier? We could've had him taken care of."

"Because I didn't think it mattered at the time. We were hardly even friends-."

"You didn't think it mattered? Of course it mattered! He tried to r-."

"I know what he tried to do! And I already got the verbal lashing for my stupidity so you can just stop give it a rest."

"I'm not going to give it a rest! He could have hurt you! Keeping things like this to themselves is how people get killed!"

"Your hands aren't clean either Seto."

"What does this situation have to do with me?"

"You have plenty of secrets! It's a challenge getting anything out of you! You keep your secrets close and you have the nerve to call me an idiot for protecting my secrets? You're a hypocrite!"

"I don't want anyone's pity!"

"And I didn't want yours!" She stood to run off, but he quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist, dragging her back onto the couch.

"Would you stop running away from me? You're being childish." She crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. He let out a slow breath.

"I was five." His voice had her turning her attention back to him. Her eyebrows were raised in confusion.

"What?"

"I was five when Mokuba was born. Our mother died while giving birth to him. My father was never the same after that. When I was eight, our father died in an accident. We bounced around from relative to relative until the lowlifes used up all our inheritance. Once our inheritance was used up, they dropped us off at the orphanage. When I was twelve, Gozaburo Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation, which at the time was a weapons company, came to the orphanage as some sort of publicity stunt. I challenged him to a game of chess. If I won, he would have to adopt Mokuba and me together. I won. Upon being adopted, Gozaburo put me through a rigorous education program." As he continued on whit his story, her look softened. She had no idea that he had been through so much.

"So I took over Kaiba Corp. and turned it into a gaming company. But by then the damage from my step-father had already been done." He said, bringing his story close to an end. "And although he's gone now. He made sure that I'd never forget the lessons he drove into my mind." He lifted up his shirt, revealing several ridged, pink scars.

"Oh my God. How did I not notice them that night you saved me from those thugs? God I'm so selfish! Seto I-."

"I usually cover them up and stop it with the pity. I don't want it and I don't need it. The only reason I went through everything I did was to protect Mokuba. As long as Mokuba wasn't getting the belt then I was doing my job. Are you satisfied now?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know-."

"Yeah well now you do. Now you know why I don't share my past with people. Every one of these scars is a memory of when I was weak. I rather not remember the times when I was vulnerable." By now, he had turned his gaze away from her. _What the hell Seto? You've never told anyone about all that! Now she's going to think you're weak, idiot._

"You aren't weak Seto. If anything, these scars show strength and bravery."

"Don't waste my time with your pity."

"I'm serious. You did all that just so Mokuba could have a better life. That's a pretty strong and chivalrous thing to do if you ask me." He turned his attention back to her.

"You don't mean that. You feel bad for me. I told you I don't want your pity Ronnie."

"Of course I mean it." The two fell silent. _Great, now he's upset with me. Nice going._

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I mean I knew that your past was kind of a touchy subject but I didn't know it was that-."

"It's okay Ronnie. You didn't know. Now you do. Now you know never to bring it up again." He paused for a minute. "Besides, I guess it's only fair. You told me the truth about Tony, so it's only fair that I tell you about my past." His words made her feel guilt ridden. _If only you knew Seto. If only you knew._

**Chapter seventeen finished! Um I apologize for Seto being O.O.C this chapter but I really wanted to give Ronnie a look into his past. Hopefully the way I wrote it didn't bug too many people. I mean, most of us already know Seto's whole childhood story so I figured leaving part of it out would be alright and probably better. Um this is kind of a cliffhanger again but I've already started the next chapter so it should be up either tomorrow or Thursday. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Alright, chapter eighteen here we go! Sorry I'm such an awful person! I said I'd get this up Thursday, but I was lost what I had started writing and had to completely re-do this chapter! So I'm sorry for that. And this chapter is going to be kind of boring cause it's just a filler chapter so I can't really redeem myself for the late update. BUT after this chapter, stuff is going to really heat up. Ronnie's past can't be hidden forever folks! And next chapter it will begin to unravel. Anyway! I'm going to shut up before I give too much away. I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless of the lack of action!**

Time flew by and soon it was December twenty-third. After a lot of convincing, Ronnie convinced Seto to allow the "nerd herd" to come to the mansion for Christmas dinner. The duo walked around Wal-Mart, to finish up the last of the Christmas shopping. The song Rocking Around The Christmas Tree was playing on loop and it was starting to make Seto's head throb.

"Are we almost finished? I have no idea what the tabloids would say if they saw me here," Seto complained, looking down the long aisle of toys.

"That's why I told you to wear sunglasses and a sweatshirt. Your white coat is distinctive."

"Hmph. Well I have no idea what your friends like." He picked up one of the princess dolls from off the shelf with a frown. "Does Tea like dolls?"

"Tea's eighteen." He scoffed and put the doll back on the shelf.

"You know, a simple no to my question would have sufficed." She turned towards him with a small frown.

"Could you act a bit more enthusiastic Mr. Sourpuss? Does Mokuba like dragons?"

"Yes." She pulled a dragon Lego set from off the shelf and showed it to Seto.

"Does he like Legos?"

"I don't know." Christmas shopping turned out to be much more difficult for the older Kaiba brother. The Kaibas hadn't had a real Christmas since their parents died. Sure, the orphanage celebrated the holiday but it wasn't the same as it was when they celebrated with their own family. He didn't even know what Mokuba wanted for Christmas. He couldn't exactly use Santa Claus as a way to get his younger brother's wish list.

"Well he's your brother. You know him better than anyone else." He finally shrugged at Ronnie with a small nod.

"Sure. I guess." She placed the Lego set in the cart and turned to face down the aisle.

"I'm going to go to the book section. There's this book that Tea has been wanting. I'll be right back." She took off down the hall, leaving the cart with him. He was about to follow her down the aisle but stopped when a boy no older than Mokuba shoved a Bionicle under his coat. Usually he wouldn't get involved in such situations, but he found himself doing the complete opposite.

"What are you doing?" The boy turned towards Seto, a look of innocence in his brown eyes. The young boy's hair was blonde and in desperate need of a cut. Freckles were smattered across his nose.

"What are you talking about?"

"Put the toy back before I call someone." The boy, realizing he'd been caught, scowled and took the toy out from underneath his coat. He solemnly put it back on the shelf, frowning deeply.

"You're ruining Christmas for my brother." Seto's eyes hardened.

"Pardon?"

"You're ruining my brother's Christmas," the boy repeated, his voice harsher this time.

"Is it that hard to buy the thing?" Seto asked in a much harsher voice than he intended.

"I don't have any money. My brother is dying and I wanted to get him a gift to make his last Christmas bearable but the orphanage doesn't' give us any money. So thanks, for ruining his last Christmas." The boy turned to leave the store but Seto stopped him.

"Hey!" the young boy turned, still frowning. Seto held out the Bionicle to the boy. A twenty-dollar bill stuck out of the box. The boy looked at the box then at Seto in uncertainty.

"I have a younger brother too." The boy took the box from Seto with a grateful smile.

"Thank you." _Poor kid_, he thought as the young boy headed towards the register. Despite what many people thought, Seto was actually not that bad a guy. Although he rarely showed the softer side of himself, the softer side did exist. He showed compassion for children, especially for those who were orphaned. He watched the boy go with a sad frown.

"Hey. I found the last of the gifts," Ronnie said, walking down the aisle towards him. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here." She noticed the look on his face and looked at him curiously.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am. Let's just pay before someone figures out who I am."

"Alright. We have to get these wrapped anyways."

"Ow! God damn it!" Ronnie screamed, putting her thumb into her mouth.

"Another paper cut?" Seto asked with a smirk. Upon returning from shopping, the couple locked themselves in the study to wrap presents.

"It's not funny," she snapped. "It hurts!"

"Poor Ronnie. Want me to kiss it and make it better?" he asked with a pout.

"Ha ha," she laughed dryly. "Just keep wrapping. You aren't funny by the way."

"What happened to that Christmas spirit that you had earlier?" he asked with a smug smile.

"That horse got shot in the face when I got my third paper cut."

"Maybe if you weren't so bad at wrapping presents then that wouldn't be an issue." The frown that she was trying to keep started to falter.

"Oh, so you think you're better at wrapping presents? How about we see if that statement is true?"

"Are you really willing to look like a moron?" She pulled the rest of the presents to the middle. There were six presents left. She pushed three to his side then pulled the remaining half to her side.

"Alright. Why don't you put the money where your mouth is Rich Boy? We each wrap three presents. The first to finish wrapping their presents neatly wins." He chuckled.

"We're really doing this?"

"Scared?"

"Of course not. I just find you ridiculous."

"Oh please this is nothing new! Now are you up for the challenge or not?"

"Of course I am. I'm always up for a chance to prove I'm the best at something."

"We'll see won't we? Alright. One, two, three. Go!" The couple quickly started to wrap the remaining presents. The sound of wrapping paper tearing and scissors cutting filled the air.

"Damn," he hissed, pulling his hand towards his face. He had a small cut on his index finger.

"Ha! Not so funny on the other end is it?" she asked with a laugh. "That's Karma!" He rolled his eyes and continued to wrap the gifts.

"Done!"

"Done!"

"That was so me!" she cheered.

"You finished like one second before me. It's not that big a deal."

"That means I'm once second of a better wrapper than you."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to because I'm the winner!" He rolled his eyes as she danced around the room.

"Sometimes your enthusiasm is staggering."

"Is that so? Well sometimes your negativity is staggering."

"Oh yeah, well your innocence is staggering as well."

"So is your independence."

"And your stubbornness."

"And your arrogance."

"And your short fuse."

"And your grumpiness."

"And your sarcasm." By now, they were both standing face to face. Neither one wanted to be the one to lose their verbal showdown. It wasn't clear to either of them who instigated the kiss, but soon their lips were locked in a passionate kiss. She threaded her fingers through his dark hair and his grip tightened on her hips. They pulled away, both breathless and their cheeks tinted pink.

"Well. Um," she started.

"Should we go downstairs?"

"Sure."

"Ronnie wake up," a voice whispered, lightly shoving her shoulder. She groaned and flipped a pillow over her face. "Ronnie come on, it's Christmas." Ronnie pushed the pillow away and looked at the person who was trying to wake her. Mokuba stood by her bed in his pajamas. A huge grin was on his face.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she yawned, stretching. "Is your brother up?"

"Are you kidding? Of course he isn't."

"Should we wake him?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"Are you crazy? Won't he be mad?"

"He doesn't scare me." Before the younger Kaiba could protest, Ronnie had jumped out of bed and headed down the hallway. Mokuba followed her down the hallway to try and stop her. _I shouldn't have woken her_, he thought. _Seto is going to be really angry if she wakes him up._ Ronnie stopped in front of his bedroom door and pressed an ear to the door. Light snores came from the other side of the door. She held up her hand and began knocking loudly.

"Wakey wakey!" she shouted. Mokuba came to a stop near her.

"Are you crazy Ronnie?" he whispered fiercely. "You'll make him mad." She continued knocking, showing that she didn't care. The door finally opened to reveal a frowning Seto.

"Do you need something?" he snapped.

"It's Christmas."

"Very accurate observation. Your point would be?"

"It's time to get up. It's ten o' clock and we have a lot to do before Yugi and the gang get here at three." He let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his bed head.

"Fine. I'll be down in a bit."

The whole rest of the morning consisted of preparing for the guests to arrive. Christmas songs blasted through the mansion. Ronnie danced around the kitchen as she prepared the dinner for that night.

"You know we could've had someone cook this for us," Seto said, entering the kitchen.

"I wanted to cook. Do you want to help?"

"I'm not much of a cook."

"So. You can be my helper." She flicked her head in the direction of the mixing bowls next to her.

"What do I need to do?" he asked, coming to stand next to her. She handed him a couple measuring cups.

"Follow these directions exactly," she said, sliding an index card to him. "The big T is tablespoons and the little t is teaspoons."

"Okay." Soon, the last preparation was finished. The turkey sat in the oven, the table was set, and all the presents had been put under the tree. The doorbell rang, signaling that the guests had arrived. The evening consisted of talking, laughing, and eating. Even Seto cracked a few smiles. The hours flew by and soon; the group sat in the Kaiba's living room opening presents.

"This one's from me," Ronnie said, handing a present to Seto. He opened the neatly wrapped box to find a blue eyes pin sitting on a velvet cushion.

"It's for good luck," she explained, removing it from its box. She moved closer to him and started fastening it to his coat.

"It's like what this necklace does for me." She pulled a Brazilian necklace out from under her shirt. "My mom got it for me when she went to Brazil. I just started wearing it when I moved here. When I wear it, I think of her and it brings me luck. When you wear this, you can think of me. The lady at the store said if you rub it, it will bring good luck." He pulled her into his arms in a tight hug.

"Thank you." She smiled, hugging him back.

"You're welcome." He pulled away from her and reached into the pocket of his coat. He removed a white envelope and handed it to her. When she opened the envelope, her eyes lit up.

"You got me Phantom of the Opera tickets?"

"Yeah. It isn't for a while, but I thought you and I could go over the spring holiday."

"Thank you!" she hugged him tightly. "I can't wait!"

"Merry Christmas Ronnie."

"Merry Christmas Seto."

"Something's wrong with Ronnie," Yami replied when Yugi returned home after the party.

"What do you mean Yami?"

"I sense a presence inside her."

"What kind of presence."

"I don't know. But it is not a good one."

"Do you think it has something to do with that necklace?"

"I don't know Yugi. I really don't know."

**So there we go. This chapter ended up not being very good again, so sorry about that. The original version was better, but as I said before that version was lost. I chose to end it here to let your minds fester for a little bit:P But the next chapter should be up pretty soon. I'm bed ridden so I'll be doing a lot of writing this weekend. Also, I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed Tuesday so I'll have plenty of time to write! Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too unbearable. Until next time, peace out girl scouts.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Alright, here's chapter nineteen. So The Ring Two is seriously the weirdest movie on the planet. Apparently deer are now predatory. Really Samara? Deer? Anyway! The beginning part of this chapter will be kind of slow but at the end, things pick up! This is when things start to heat up. But you'll all see what I mean. Read and enjoy (hopefully). **

"There you are," Ronnie said, walking into Seto's office. He sat in his office chair, typing on his computer. "Mokuba said you were looking for me."

"Yes. One of my business associates is having a New Year's Eve party. Since my attendance as well as a date is required, I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me." She couldn't help but smile at his serious tone of voice.

"Sure. You know me, I love a good party."

"I know," he said with a small smirk. "The party starts at eight and it's formal dress."

"Okay. Well you look busy," she said gesturing to his open laptop. "I'll let you work." She walked out of his office and headed to her bedroom. She grabbed her cellphone from off her bedside table and dialed Tea.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tea. Are you busy today?"

"Nope. Why?"

"You want to go to the mall with me? I have some dress shopping to do and I'd like a second opinion." Tea squealed on the other end.

"Of course I'll come! I love dress shopping!" Ronnie laughed.

"Okay. Meet me there in half an hour okay?"

"Okay. See you there!"

Thirty minutes later, the two friends were walking through the mall, laughing and talking. Upon reaching the dress shop, they entered and immediately starting searching the racks.

"So what's the occasion?" Teas asked, rummaging through the racks.

"Some ritzy New Year's Eve party that one of Seto's business associates is having," she answered quietly. They were in public, so she had to keep her voice down. Tea understood.

"Alright. Well, how about these?" she asked, holding up a few dresses.

"I can try them." Ronnie took the dresses Tea had in her hands and walked into one of the dressing rooms. The first one was a short, ivory colored dress. It hugged her slim figure and reached a few inches above her knee Ronnie made a face and stepped out.

"I feel like play boy bunny," she said, pulling down on the dress.

"Well it is a bit…revealing, but it's cute."

"Thanks but this one is a no." She walked back into the dressing room and changed into the next dress. This process continued for several dresses. She walked out in the current one with a small frown. The dress was hot pink with flowers, sparkles, and ruffles.

"This one looks like it was designed by Barbie." Tea laughed at Ronnie.

"It isn't that bad."

"Oh please. It looks like a four-year-old girl threw up on me. I'm starting to think we aren't going to find anything here."

"Come on Ronnie! You only have one more dress to try on!"

"Oh yeah. Just like in a cheesy romance novel, the last dress I try on will be the 'perfect dress' right?

"Just try it."

"Okay fine. But only because it's blue." She reentered the dressing room and shut it behind her. She changed into the dress then looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was strapless and a deep blue color. The bottom of the dress dropped straight to the floor. There was a cutout in the back of the dress that dipped down to the small of her back She stepped out and Tea smiled.

"Ronnie you look really pretty!"

"Thanks. I think this dress is the one."

"See aren't you happy you tried on the last dress?"

"Alright, you were right Tea. I'm going to get changed and then I'll go pay." After paying, the girls grabbed lunch.

"Have fun at your party. Tell me all about it after."

"Will do Tea. Thanks for coming with me."

"No problem. It was fun! See ya later Ronnie!" Tea waved at her friend and then the two parted ways.

Soon, it was New Year's Eve. Seto stood downstairs, dressed in his nicest suit. It was currently a quarter past seven, and Ronnie still had not come downstairs yet. _We're going to be late._ As if she could hear his thoughts, Ronnie's voice suddenly came from upstairs.

"Sorry! I'll be down in a minute!" There was shuffling then silence. She finally made an appearance at the top of the stairs. She picked up the bottom of her dress and rushed down the stairs.

"Sorry I couldn't find my shoes." He couldn't help but stare at her. Her hair was pinned up in an elegant updo with a few curls falling free. Her eyes were lined with thick black liner and her lips were stained a cherry red.

"You uh look…um."

"Cat got your tongue? You're usually so much more articulate," she said with a laugh. He cleared his throat then tried again.

"You look nice."

"Thanks. You look quite dapper yourself Rich Boy." He held out his arm to her with a smirk.

"Shall we go?"

"Lead the way."

The limo pulled up to a large mansion. Lights illuminated every window, making the estate look like something from a movie. The couple mingled with the other guests and soon, it was almost midnight. The couple walked out onto the empty balcony as the guests inside prepared to toast to the New Year.

"So are you having fun?"

"I don't have fun."

"You know frowning creates more wrinkles?"

"Thanks for sharing yet another useless fact."

"Oh, well did you know that your burn twenty-five calories by kissing?"

"Actually it's twenty-six. If you plan on being a hub of useless information, you should do your research."

"Happy New Year!" the crowd shouted from inside.

"Oh just shut up and kiss me." She grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and pulled his face to hers in a passionate kiss.

The next day, Ronnie walked down the stairs with a yawn. She reached the kitchen to find Seto and Mokuba reading a newspaper.

"Morning." The two boys ignored her and continued to read. "What's got you guys so interested today?"

"It's an article about you and Nii-sama."

"What?" She slipped the paper towards her. There was a picture of a couple lip locked on a balcony. Although the picture was of poor quality, it was easy to tell who the two people were. She quickly read through the article with a slight frown.

"I'm sorry Seto. I should've been more careful. I know you wanted to keep us a secret-."

"Don't feel bad. People were bound to find out sometime."

"Why the big fuss though? I didn't think there would be a story about us so soon."

"They're making a big fuss about it because you're the first girlfriend I've ever had."

"It answers all the speculations over his sexuality." Seto scoffed.

"People seem to think that since I've never dated that I'm in the closet."

"So what happens now?" she asked, unsure about the situation. "Am I going to get mobbed by reporters trying to get to work?"

"Well. It would be best to skip work for a couple days. Just until the gossip dies down."

"I better call Tasha then."

"I'm sorry Ronnie. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen-."

"It's okay," she said, cutting him off. "I don't care what the world thinks. I'm happy, you're happy; so they can all screw themselves. Seeing as I won't be going to work today, I better go call Tasha." She headed up the stairs to grab her cellphone.

"She took that well," Mokuba noted.

A few days later, the gossip had died down and Ronnie returned to work. Seto was working up in his office. The sound of a door opening had him looking up from his laptop. Four men in all black stood in the doorway. Seto stood and placed his hand under his desk, searching for the silent alarm.

"Don't bother alerting your security Mr. Kaiba. We wouldn't want them interrupting." The man that spoke held up a gun and pointed it at Seto's chest. He cast a brief glance to the security camera mounted high on the wall. He looked at the gun with a small frown. He knew that these men hadn't come this far just to kill him. The gun was just a way to make sure he'd cooperate. But Seto Kaiba didn't do anything he didn't want to do.

"You'll never take me alive." With these words, he jumped over his desk and tackled the man who held the gun to the ground. The gun flew far out of the man's reach. He brought his fist down hard into the man's face, knocking him unconscious. A cloth suddenly came down over Seto's mouth and nose. Without thinking, he breathed in the fumes of the cloth. He soon became light headed. He tried to pull himself to his desk as a last attempt to alert security. Before he could reach his desk, the chemical did its job and he fell unconscious.

** Well guys and gals. There we go! Um, so I noticed that stupid autocorrect has been changing Nii-sama to Nii-sami. When I saw that, I flipped a shit. Really autocorrect? Nii-sami isn't even a freaking word! Gah! It made me angry! Anyway, I will go back and edit those chapters soon. So, back to this chapter. This was yet another chapter that I'm not entirely proud of. And I left it on a cliffhanger…again. But do not fret! I plan on writing the next chapter tomorrow after I'm over my high from getting my wisdom teeth removed. Hopefully this chapter doesn't seem so God awful on your guys' end. Until next time readers!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Alright! Here we go with chapter twenty! Damn, it's hard to believe that a month ago I published this story. It's kind of crazy. Anyway! This chapter was hard for me to write for various reasons. One being, I hate being mean to characters I like. Also, it was hard to figure out how people would react to the situation in the chapter, but hopefully I did all the characters justice! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

Ronnie was happy to finally return to the mansion. Although the gossip about the couple had died down, she still ran into several people who had questions. She politely dodged all the questions and hurried home. Upon entering the mansion, she heard a pounding coming from down the hall. _What the hell?_ She walked down the hall and the sound grew louder.

"Somebody! Get me out!" _That sounds like Mokuba!_ The sound traced back to a closet door. A table was pushed against the door, keeping it shut.

"Mokuba? Hold on!"

"Ronnie! Get me out!" She pushed against the table to try and release the young boy. After what felt like forever, she finally moved the table out of the way. Right when she opened the door, the black haired boy ran into her arms. He was shaking and sobbing.

"Mokuba? What happened? Where's Seto?"

"They took him! I tried to stop them but they trapped me in the closet and took him!" he spoke rapidly.

"Mokuba, you need to calm down. I can't understand a thing you're saying."

"They took Seto!" And like that, she felt her world fall around her ears. Her heart pounded roughly in her chest and a large lump settled in her throat.

"Who took him?"

"I don't know! They were all wearing black ski masks. I tried to stop them but they trapped me in the closet! I don't know how it happened. The security team should've-." He stopped speaking when the tears overwhelmed him. "We have to save him Ronnie!" She rubbed his back to try and calm him. _Alright, stay calm. This is not the time to freak out_.

"I'll call the police and get them down here." A short fifteen minutes later, the police were at the mansion searching for evidence. The officers stood in Seto's office with Mokuba and Ronnie.

"There's sign of a slight struggle," one of the officers said, taking note of the things that had been knocked off Seto's desk.

"So what do we do now?" she asked, trying desperately to keep her voice from shaking with worry.

"The only thing we can really do is wait."

"Wait? What if these people plan to hurt him? We can't just sit around and wait for that to happen!"

"Miss I need you to calm down. We'll find him." She inhaled slowly and nodded.

"Sorry. I know. You're right. But isn't there anything we can do? Can we call his cell phone and trace it somehow?"

"The only way we can trace the call is if he picks up, which is unlikely."

"Can't we try?"

"It would be dangerous. Trying to contact him may make his kidnapper angry." Ronnie swallowed around the large lump in her throat. _There must be something we can do._ Ronnie's cellphone rang, making her jump. She looked at the caller id and her stomach jumped to her throat.

"It's Seto," she said.

"Maybe he escaped!" Mokuba said excitedly. For some reason, Ronnie doubted it. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Seto?" she asked when she answered the phone.

"Wrong." The voice on the other end of the phone made a chill run up her spine. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"T-Tony?" she stuttered.

"And here I was thinking you've forgotten about me Al-," he stopped mid sentence and chuckled. "Oh yes, it's Veronica now isn't it?"

"Where's Seto?"

"Oh he's here with me right now actually. Funny, I never knew you liked brunettes."

"Let him go Tony." He chuckled darkly, causing her heart to beat faster.

"Look Veronica," he paused to laugh again. "I've got to go. I think the chloroform is starting to wear off. Why don't you call me later? We'll talk then. Bye Veronica." The phone began to drone, signaling that the call had been ended. The way Tony had conversed with her as if they were old friends in need of catching up made her skin crawl. Seto was in danger and it was _her _fault. She collapsed into Seto's desk chair, and placed her head in her hands.

"Ronnie, who's Tony?" Mokuba asked. Ronnie didn't know how to answer his question without revealing her whole dirty secret. She finally decided on the same story she told Seto a little while prior. She pulled her face out of her hands and looked at Mokuba.

"He's my ex-boyfriend. When I ended it he freaked. He wouldn't leave me alone so that's why I moved here."

"Why does he want my brother?"

"Because he's psychotic!" She groaned and dropped her head back into her hands. "How did he even get in here without an alarm going off?"

"Is he going to hurt him?" She peered at Mokuba through her hands. She knew she had to be honest with the kid, but the answer even scared her.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I like to think he won't, but I know what Tony is capable of." She stopped for a minute and glanced at her phone, which she still held in her hand. "We have to trace the call. I have to call him back so we can trace it."

"We'll need to go down to the station for that," one of the officers said.

"Then let's go."

Seto returned to consciousness with his head swimming. He opened his eyes slowly and let out a low groan. He closed his eyes again, trying to soothe his vertigo. When he tried to move his hand to touch his head, he found that his arms were bound tightly to a chair behind him. _What the hell?_ He began to pull at the ropes, trying to get free of his bonds. He let out a frustrated sigh when he realized there was no way of getting free. He scanned the room, his blue eyes narrowed. The room was small with dark colored walls and no windows. It was a basement. He glared at the door when he heard talking coming from the other side of it. The frown on his face deepened when the door opened and a figure stepped through the open frame. The man who stepped through was not much older than Seto himself, though he was taller. Seto knew he was tall for his age, but the man that stood in front of him was a good three or four inches taller. He had black hair that was cut short and cold, steel colored eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the all-powerful CEO himself. To what do I owe the honor Mister Kaiba?" Seto scoffed as his eyes hardened.

"Don't waste your breath. You apparently don't know who you're dealing with or what I'm capable of because when I get out of here you'll have more than just a major lawsuit on your hands!" The words that came from Seto's mouth were filled with venom. The man laughed.

"What makes you think you'll be leaving?"

"You kidnapped me in broad daylight and in front of my security cameras. Your ignorance is palpable." The man whipped his hand out and smacked Seto's cheek roughly.

"I was warned about your snarky comments. I suggest you try to hold your tongue while you're here, otherwise I might not be able to hold myself back."

"Coward," Seto sneered in response. The man gripped Seto's collar roughly, his cold gray eyes staring into Seto's hard, blue ones.

"I'll kill you right now if you don't learn respect you pompous blowhard!" the man hissed. Seto smirked in triumph, knowing that he had gotten under his kidnapper's skin.

"I'm pretty sure you didn't go through all the trouble to get me here just to kill me." The kidnapper released Seto's collar with a small smirk.

"It's good to know that your intelligence lives up to expectations."

"They won't give you anything," he said, referring to his security team. "My security team is highly trained. They know how to deal with hostage situations without paying the ransom."

"They weren't trained enough to stop us from getting you here," his kidnapper said with a dark chuckle. "Besides, who ever said I wanted money?" Now Seto was confused. What else could this man want?

"Then what is it you want?"

"It isn't a what. It's a who." A deep frown of confusion settled between the brunette's brows.

"I'm not following." The man released another chuckle.

"Maybe your reputation doesn't precede you." The man leaned in towards Seto, balancing his weight on the arms of the chair. "I want Veronica." Seto felt the very first quiver of fear start to build inside of him. _He wants Veronica?_

"Who are you?" Seto hadn't meant to ask that, but it was the only question he could think of in his panic.

"The name's Tony." Seto couldn't hide the shocked look on his face. The look on his face made his captor's smirk widen. "I assume she told you about me?"

"You're the reason she moved here. You wouldn't leave her alone after she broke up with you-."

"Wait, that's what she told you?" he asked, cutting the young CEO off. "She told you I was her ex-boyfriend? I knew she was a little tease but I had no idea she was a liar as well."

"What are you talking about?" The man laughed.

"It really isn't my position to tell you your girlfriend's dirty little secret but," he paused, as if he was mulling something over. "It's my duty as a fellow man to tell you. She was my whore Seto." Seto's eyes hardened.

"You're lying, you pig!"

"Oh I wish I was Mister Kaiba, but I'm not. The truth hurts doesn't it?" He lightly patted Seto's cheek. Seto tore his face away with a growl.

"Go screw yourself!" he hissed.

"Oh I think I much rather leave that up to your little girlfriend. That is her job after all."

"Don't touch her you bastard!" Tony's grin continued to widen in amusement.

"I had no idea that the usually cold-hearted CEO had emotions. With all due respect, isn't it you that's the bastard?" The hard look on Seto's face made Tony release a dark laugh. "Did I hit a nerve Mister Kaiba?"

"I'll kill you!" Tony brought his hand across Seto's cheek again. The force of the blow caused the young CEO's nose to drip blood.

"You're in no position to be making threats Mister Kaiba," Tony growled. A knock on the door had Tony standing up to his full height. Another man entered the basement, holding Seto's phone.

"Hey! Is that m-."

"Shut up!" Tony hissed, cutting off the CEO before turning his attention back to the other man. "What is it?"

"She's calling." Tony grinned maliciously.

"Speaking of the trollop. She's calling now Seto. Keep him quiet," he ordered the man before pressing the phone to his ear. "We wouldn't want him interfering."

Finally, everything was set. Ronnie and Mokuba sat in the back room of the police station, tensely staring at the phone in her hand. Both their faces were pale with fright as a silence passed between them.

"Whenever you're ready Miss. Warren," the officer said, sensing her fear. She released a breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding and nodded. She handed her phone to the officer. Ronnie and Mokuba weren't sure if they wanted Tony to answer but neither of them moved to stop the officer from dialing the number of Seto's cell phone. The officer set it to speaker so the whole room could hear. The ring droned on for four, five, six rings. Every ring made the whole room bristle with fear until a cold voice picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" The chilling voice of Tony on the other line sent goose bumps down Ronnie's arms. In the background, the officer mouthed to his college to start tracing the call.

"Tony."

"I wasn't expecting you to call so soon Veronica," he said with a laugh. Ronnie swallowed, trying to think of what to say to keep him on the line long enough to trace the call.

"What have you done with Seto?"

"Oh I haven't done anything yet."

"Why do you want him?"

"Don't boost his ego too much. It's not him I want. Although, I'm sure people would pay loads of money for his safe return."

"You monster!" Mokuba shrieked, jumping to his feet and grabbing the phone, disrupting the tracing in the process. "You let go of my big brother now or I'll-."

"You'll what?" Tony provoked jeeringly. "You'll sue me? The way I see it, I'm the one in control. One false move, even one false word and I may not be able to hold myself back."

"Tony please!" Ronnie sobbed, taking the phone from Mokuba. "Don't do this to him! Let him go!"

"I'll be happy to offer a trade Veronica. You for him." His words caused her to shake with fear.

"Miss Warren I insist that you return the phone," the officer yelled over the chaos, ripping the phone away from the frantic teen. Everyone in the room froze when Tony began to laugh in amusement on the other end of the phone.

"Trying to trace the call? Thank you for the warning officer."

"Tony!" Ronnie cried helplessly, trying to prevent him from hanging up.

"What is it Babe?"

"I'll go back with you. Just please let him go. Don't hurt him." He chuckled darkly on the other end.

"We'll see."

"Tony don't!" Before she could get the phone back, the line went dead. The drone of the phone made everyone in the room become full of dread. However, the hopes were lifted when the officer's college stood up.

"We got him!"

Tony hung up the phone with a laugh.

"You can release him." The man who had been keeping Seto quiet roughly released him.

"I think it's time to change the scenery," Tony said coolly. "The police are onto us. We wouldn't want them to find us before Veronica does." With the mention of her name, Seto began to struggle again.

"Don't touch her!"

"Who's going to stop me Kaiba? You?" Tony moved his attention to the man standing near Seto. "Get him up. We're getting out of here." The man nodded and began to loosen the rope that was wrapped around the chair. Seto knew that this might be the only chance he got to escape. As soon as his arms were no longer attached to the chair, he rammed his shoulder into the man behind him. His shoulder connected with the side of the man's head, sending him backwards. Once the man was knocked backwards, he shot to his feet and headed towards the basement door. There was still Tony and his wrists were still bound, but Seto knew he stood a much better chance against one guy than two. He head butted Tony in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the psychopath's lungs. He was close to escape when a blinding pain hit the back of his head. Then everything went dark. Really, really dark.

Ronnie and Mokuba nervously sat back at the mansion, waiting to hear from the police. Somehow, the police had managed to finish the tracking process before Tony hung up and a group of them were now heading towards the destination. However, a part of Ronnie knew that the destination would be empty upon the officers' arrival. Tony knew the police were after him. He'd be crazy to stay put. And although she had voiced this concern to the police, they had ignored her and said that they had to try searching there anyway.

"They'll save him right?" Mokuba asked, his voice quiet.

"Of course they will," she answered, although she wasn't too sure of the answer herself. Ronnie's phone rang on her lap, making them both jump. Ever since this ordeal had begun, they both had been on edge. She looked at her phone then at Mokuba.

"It's a text from him."

"What does it say?" he asked as she opened the message. **By the time the police get there, we won't be there anymore. Come to the Domino City Pier if you plan on helping Mister Kaiba. Come alone or you may just force my hand.** The text had her standing up and walking towards the front door.

"Ronnie where are you going?"

"I know where they took him." She grabbed a jacket from off the coat rack and threw it on.

"Wait! We should wait for the police! You can't go alone!"

"Mokuba, he said he'd hurt Seto if I didn't go alone. I can't put him in more danger."

"But he'll hurt you if you go alone! Besides, how can we know if we can trust him? Please just wait for the police Ronnie!" Her hand stopped halfway to the doorknob. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears that were forming. As much as it killed her to admit it, Mokuba was right. There was no way that she could take on Tony alone. Especially when she knew that there were others involved. If she went alone, there was no guarantee that Seto would be released unharmed.

"You're right." She dialed the police and pressed her phone to her ear. After four rings, someone answered.

"They're at the Domino Pier. I'll meet you guys down there. But tread lightly, he thinks I'm coming alone." Before they could tell her to stay uninvolved, she had hung up the phone.

"Mokuba. I need you to stay here."

"No way! I have to-."

"There's nothing you can do to help at this point Mokuba," she interrupted. "If I let you come, then I'm putting you in danger as well. You need to stay here with Roland. Please."

"But Seto needs me."

"I know he does. But he'd kill me if I let you come. Please just trust me Mokuba. I won't let anything happen to your brother." Despite how much he wanted to help, Mokuba knew that there was no arguing against her.

"Okay."

The first thing that Seto became aware of when he came to was a throbbing pain in his head. His arms were still bound, preventing him from massaging the pain away. A dark chuckle had him turning his attention to the other side of the room.

"I didn't think you'd be up so soon," Tony tittered mockingly. "I hit you pretty hard." Seto's vision swam. He threw Tony the most intimidating glare he could muster, earning a laugh from the psychopath. Sound filtered in and out, causing Seto to feel as if he was trapped in a fog. The dizziness in his head intensified, making him feel nauseous.

"Where are we?" he slurred.

"A place." Seto released a low growl. He was getting tired of this.

"Don't toy with me." His slurred speech made Tony laugh again.

"Don't worry Mister Kaiba. The trollop will be here soon enough."

"Don't talk about her like that!"

"Oh but it's what she is."

"Spare me the lies."

"You'll see the light soon enough Mister Kaiba." Again, Seto tried to glare at Tony. However, due to the dizziness in his head, it was not very intimidating. A knock on the door caused Tony to release a growl from deep in his throat. A man stood in the now open doorway.

"What is it?" Tony snapped. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"The police found us. They're searching the grounds now." A dark smirk spread across Tony's cruel features.

"She just loves to force my hand doesn't she? Keep them busy," he demanded. "I have something to take care of." The man nodded and left the room. His voice could be heard shouting commands in the hallway. After pulling the ropes away from the chair, Tony roughly pulled his captive to his feet. Seto was about to say something when he felt cool metal being pressed against his temple.

"Walk," Tony ordered smoothly. Seeing no other option, Seto complied.

Ronnie stood outside the pier with another police officer. Although she wanted to help, the other officers had ordered her to stay put. She tapped her foot nervously, waiting for a sign that the police had safely gotten to Seto. The police officer that stood with her could sense her panic. He was a young officer, having only been on the force for a bit over a year.

"He'll be alright Miss," he said, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. She nodded fervently.

"Yeah. I know he will be," she said, clasping her hands in front of her to stop them from shaking.

"Maybe you should sit down Miss." She brushed him off with a shake of her head.

"No. It's okay. I'll be fine."

"You just love forcing my hand don't you Babe?" The cold voice had both Ronnie and the officer turning towards the speaker. Tony stood a few feet away from them with Seto in his grasp. One hand was around Seto's neck; the other held a gun to his temple. Upon seeing the kidnapper and his captive, the officer raised his gun and pointed it at Tony. He prepared to radio the other officers when Tony's cold laugh stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, clicking the gun. "Put the gun down or I'll shoot." Ronnie looked at the police officer, her eyes wide with fear.

"Do as he says." The officer looked unsure. Tony's eyes narrowed when the officer didn't comply. He tightened his grip on Seto's neck, causing the CEO to gag.

"I said drop the gun now!" Ronnie's gaze flashed between Tony and the officer. The officer finally complied and put the gun on the ground.

"Good. Now kick it over here." The officer held up his arms and kicked the gun towards Tony. Tony used his foot and kicked the officer's gun off the side of the pier. He pulled the gun away from Seto and leveled it at the officer's chest.

"You're of no use to me." He pulled the trigger and a bang followed. Ronnie screamed when the officer's body hit the ground. Blood was leaking from the wound on his shoulder.

"I warned you," Tony hissed, moving the gun to point it at Ronnie. "I told you to come alone. Now his blood is on your hands!" Seto took advantage of having the gun pointed at Ronnie and rammed his head back into Tony's face. His captor let out a surprised yelp and released his grip around Seto's neck. Seto rammed his shoulder into Tony's stomach, causing the man to double over and drop the gun. Seto rammed him again, sending him to the ground. While the brief confrontation went on, Ronnie dove to the ground and picked up the gun that Tony had dropped. Tony pulled himself to his feet, ready to attack Seto, but stopped when he saw Ronnie holding his gun. The kidnapper held up his hands defensively.

"Now Veronica. Don't do anything you'll regret."

"Shut up!" she shrieked, her hands shaking violently. He took a step forward but stopped when she clicked the gun.

"Stay back!"

"Okay, okay," he said defensively, taking a step back. Her hands were still shaking, causing Tony to smirk. _She won't shoot_, he thought. _She's a coward. I'll just take the gun from her. It'll be easy._ Tony took advantage of her weakness and dove forward. Without thinking, she pulled the trigger. Tony let out a painful yell and fell backwards, holding onto his bleeding knee.

"I said stay back!" she hissed. Tony groaned from his place on the ground but made no attempt to move again. Once she was sure that he was down for good, she dropped the gun. She turned her attention to Seto, who stood a mere foot away. She couldn't hold back her relief anymore. She threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.

"Seto I was so scared he-." She stopped, unable to even voice her fear.

"Sh it's okay. I'm fine. You're fine. Everything is going to be alright." She dug her key out of her pocket and used it to cut away the ropes that still bound Seto's wrists. Afterwards, she turned her attention to the fallen officer.

"Is he dead?" she asked, her voice wavering. Seto put a finger on the man's neck to check for a pulse.

"No. But he needs medical attention. He's loosing a lot of blood." She reached into the police car and grabbed hold of the radio.

"We have an officer down at the south side of the Domino Pier. We need the ambulance here immediately." After radioing the other officers, footsteps were heard. Ronnie looked in the direction of the footsteps and saw the other officers coming their way. Several men were with them, all handcuffed. Ronnie smiled in relief. They had done it. They had saved Seto without losing him in the process. They had won. Ronnie looked at where Tony had fallen and froze. He was now standing. Although he could barely stand, the look of anger on his face was enough to make her blood run cold. The sight of a knife in her hand made her heart stop.

"You broke our deal Veronica," he hissed. "If I can't have you, then you're of no use to me!" He chucked the knife as hard as he could in her direction. The speed at which the knife was thrown would ensure a significant amount of damage. The knife connected, digging deeply into the chest of whom it had hit. Releasing a small gasp of pain, the person who had been hit collapsed to their knees then to the ground. The other released a heart-wrenching scream that seemed to stop time itself.

"Seto no!"

**Um yeah. I'm an awful person. I'm going to end it here. Damn, this chapter was long! I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter. I tried to make the situations as realistic as possible, so hopefully the situations didn't seem too fake to you guys. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will be up soon!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey fellow people of the Internet! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! So I was watching Yu-gi-oh again as I was typing this. It was the episode where Yugi and Seto duel Dartz and Seto gets his soul taken. Holy hell, the ungodly sound that came out of my throat at that point in the episode was NOT HUMAN. I'm pretty sure my mom thinks I'm psychotic now. Anyway, I left you guys waiting long enough, so without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

The duo sat in the hospital room, watching the patient lying in the bed intently. Ever since the patient arrived at the hospital two days prior, the duo had not left his side. The duo was none other than Mokuba and Ronnie. Mokuba stared at his brother's body that lay still in the hospital bed.

"Why isn't he waking up?" he asked quietly. Ronnie bit her lip. The truth was, she had no idea why he hadn't woken up yet. The doctors said that he had a moderate concussion, but he should've been awake by now.

"I don't know," she answered slowly.

"I always thought that he was invincible. Nothing ever seemed to hurt him. I guess I was being stupid to think that." The defeat in Mokuba's voice made Ronnie frown. She could tell that he was close to giving up.

"He'll be fine Mokuba. Remember what you told me when you were in the hospital?" Mokuba smiled at the memory of what he had said.

"Yeah. Kaibas are resilient." He looked at her with a newfound determination in his eyes. "You're right Ronnie. Seto is strong. He'll pull through this."

"Exactly. He just needs rest." Mokuba nodded and let out a yawn. "And so do you. Why don't you get some sleep Mokuba?"

"But-."

"I'll wake you if anything changes."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," she nodded, drawing an x over her heart with a finger. The young Kaiba nodded before resting his head on the arm of the couch he had been sitting on. Ronnie pulled a chair up to Seto's side and sat. She looked at his unconscious form with a frown. This whole situation happened because of her. If she had just been honest about Tony, maybe then they could've been prepared for something like this. _As soon as he wakes up I'm going to tell him the truth_, she thought. This thought frightened her. What would he think when she told him? She did keep the truth hidden for selfish reasons, but he'd understand wouldn't he? She let out a yawn and rested her arms on his bed. Since her arrival at the hospital, she had barely gotten any rest and the lack of sleep was starting to get to her. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to prevent her vision from going double. No matter how hard she tried to fight it off, she was soon consumed by sleep.

A soft and steady beeping sound reached the CEO's ears. The fluorescent lighting nearly blinded him when he opened his eyes. He weakly raised an arm to protect his eyes from the bright light. His eyes finally adjusted and he gazed across the room. He noticed Mokuba sleeping on the couch in the corner of the room and frowned. Finally, his gaze rested on the machinery to his right. _Why am I in a hospital? _He tried to sit up but stopped when a sharp pain filled his chest. He let out a small groan then lowered himself back onto the hospital bed.

"Mokuba," he called softly. His voice was scratchy and weak. He cleared his throat then tried to call his brother again.

"Mokuba." A movement to his left had him turning his attention away from his sleeping sibling. Ronnie sat with a chair pulled up to his bed. Her head lifted from her arms where she had just been resting. When her eyes rested on Seto, a look of relief crossed her face.

"Mokuba!" she called. "He's awake!" The eyes of the young boy snapped open. When his gaze rested on his now conscious brother, he smiled broadly.

"Big brother!" He was up and at his brother's bedside in an instant. He grabbed onto his brother's hand tightly in fear of disturbing the stitches in his chest.

"You're awake!" he continued. "I was so scared you were-."

"It's alright," Seto soothed, cutting off his sibling's worried cries.

"How are you feeling?" Ronnie asked, bringing Seto's attention to her.

"Well considering the circumstances, I've been in better moods," he responded dryly.

"You're being sarcastic. That's always a good sign," Ronnie said, with a small smile. He went to sit up again but stopped. Seeing his discomfort, Ronnie put a hand on his shoulder and the other on his arm and helped him into the sitting position.

"How long has it been?" he asked, wincing as he adjusted to his new position.

"You got here two days ago." She could see that her words shocked him.

"That long huh?"

"Yeah. Do you remember what happened?"

"Of course I do."

"I wasn't sure. The doctors weren't sure whether or not you'd remember everything when you woke up."

"Where's Tony?"

"Jail." A look of relief passed over his usually stern features. At least that was taken care of. When Seto looked at Ronnie again he noticed how tense she seemed. There was something bothering her. Surely she hadn't been that worried. He was Seto Kaiba; it would take a lot more than some low life to finish him off.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I was just really worried about you," she answered. _I have to tell him. But I'll wait until we're alone._

Two more days passed and Seto was starting to make a full recovery. Yugi and the gang visited a lot over the course of the few days. Currently, Mokuba was in the café with Yugi and his friends. Ronnie sat in the hospital room with Seto, playing a game of chess.

"I'm going to move this here," she said tentatively, placing a hand on her piece. "That's a legal move right?"

"It's a legal move but if you move there I'll win in three turns."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Think so far ahead. I can't even think one move ahead, let alone three." He let out a small chuckle.

"It's part of the game." The couple continued on with their game.

"Checkmate. Best four out of nine?" he asked.

"No. You win," she said with a grin. "I'm done embarrassing myself."

"You're getting better. It took me twelve moves to beat you that time."

"You flatter me." She gazed across the room as a silence fell between them.

"Is something bothering you?" _You have to tell him._

"I uh…have something to tell you." His brows furrowed in confusion. This didn't sound good.

"What?"

"I haven't been completely honest with you about Tony."

"What do you mean?" She let out a shaky sigh.

"I guess I should start from the beginning-."

"Well that is customarily where you start with a story so that statement would be accurate." She looked at him with an unsatisfied glance and he fell silent.

"It started when I was still very young. I was probably nine or ten when it happened. My house was destroyed in a fire and I lost my dad and younger brother. Originally, we thought it was an accident. You know, like a gas leak or something since it was kind of an old house. But after my mom and I moved into a small apartment, we found out that our house burning wasn't an accident. My dad owed money to a gang. Apparently he ran away with my mom and they were able to hide for nearly eleven years. But the gang found my dad. They set our house on fire to kill my dad and the rest of my family. They didn't know my mom and I weren't there. I guess after the fire they thought that we had died as well. We avoided them until I was fourteen. But somehow, I'm still not quite sure how, they found my mother and me. My mother, who had fallen into a deep depression because of the fire, couldn't protect us so I tried to. The gang leader had a son named Tony who was two years older than me." She paused here to take in a calming breath and swallow around a huge lump in her throat. Seto's eyes were cold and they continued to harden as she continued on with her story.

"So the gang leader and I made an agreement. I'd go and live with them and work off the money my dad owed and they'd leave my mom alone. So I worked for them. At first it was just housework. I'd do their laundry, cook their food, and do their grocery shopping. After a year of working for them, they said I wasn't working the money off fast enough. They needed me to do more. So I did." She stopped there, unsure of how to word the next part. Tony's words echoed in Seto's ears. _It isn't true_, he thought.

"What did you do?" he asked. Then she said the answer that he was afraid of hearing.

"I slept with Tony. I became his toy," tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked rapidly to get rid of them. "Whenever he'd want me to do something, I would. This continued until last July. One of my friends from school found out about my situation. Their uncle worked with the CIA so they moved my mom and then they moved me. That's why I came here. I thought changing my name and parting my hair differently would keep me safe. But I was wrong. The only reason I kept everything a secret was because I didn't want people to pity me. I was afraid no one would want to get involved with me if they knew."

"So you aren't Veronica Warren?"

"No. My real name is Alissa Todd." _She lied to you about her name Seto, who knows what else she lied about._

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get out of my room now."

"No, please don't be mad! Seto you have to understand-."

"It's Kaiba to you," he spat coldly. The hardness in his voice made her freeze. He laughed sarcastically. "This was your plan the whole time wasn't it? I bet your story isn't even real! I bet you're just another low life that's after my company!"

"No! Seto of course I'm not-."

"I said don't call me that! How am I supposed to believe anything you say? You lied about everything else! I hate to say this and give you the satisfaction but I trusted you! I was right about you from the beginning! I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved with you, I knew you were hiding something!"

"Please just listen-."

"The time for listening is over. I want you moved out by the time I get back to the mansion. I don't owe you any more favors. Now get out of my sight." She bit her lip and left quietly. _Nice going girl, you ruined everything._

**Well there we go ladies and gents! Ronnie's past has been revealed! This chapter wasn't my best, but it wasn't my worst either. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait for you guys! Well, I guess that's it. Until next time!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Alright guys, here we go with the next chapter. I just wanted to say thanks again to all the people who have been reviewing, following, and adding my story to their favorites. It really means LOADS to me! I'm glad that so many people have been enjoying this story. This chapter brings us back to the Ronnie torture unfortunately, but it had to happen sometime. Anyways, onward with the chapter! I hope you all enjoy the twenty-second installment of Take A Chance On Me.**

School had finally started up again. Students walked around the hallways in a depressed daze, knowing that the time for fun was over and it was time to get serious again. Seto, who had been discharged from the hospital a mere three days before, sat in his first period class. So far, he was the only student present. He stared into space, a bored frown between his brows. The sound of talking pulled his gaze to the door. Ronnie, no apparently her name was Alissa, was now entering the classroom. She bit her lip when her eyes fell on Seto. The two hadn't talked, let alone seen each other since she told him about her past. Sure, she had tried calling him, but every time she did he just ignored her call. Since moving out from the mansion, she had found a home with Yugi and his grandfather. She walked up to his desk and shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot. _Don't be a drama queen. Just talk to him. He can't still be mad at you._

"Um. Hey." Seto stayed silent and directed his gaze to the window. She swallowed nervously when he ignored her greeting.

"Did you get my messages?"

"You left several," he answered dryly. "Of course I got them."

"So can we talk then?"

"No. I don't owe you any favors."

"I'm sorry-."

"For what?" he asked sharply. "Lying about everything?"

"Yeah."

"Don't waste my time. I don't want your apology."

"Okay," she said, her voice shaking. "Look, I know we aren't on good terms right now, but our project is due next week so we should probably just finish up with that then we can-."

"There's no need. I emailed Mr. Yukido last night. He's allowed us to work separately. Since most of the project is completed I told him that wouldn't be an issue. Now since I see no reason for us to converse any longer, I'll ask you to leave me alone." He pulled a book out of his bag and opened it to the marked page. She nodded sadly and headed to her desk. By now, other students had started to enter the classroom. She let out a sigh and rested her head on her desk. What had happened with Seto was really destroying her inside. Ever since the incident, she had barely spoken to anyone. The only person who knew about what happened between her and Seto was Yugi, who had forced the information out of her after noticing her odd mood. The way Seto had reacted to her story had killed her. He was the only person she trusted with the truth, and he shot her down. The heartbreak that she felt every day was almost too much to bear. She had fallen for him, and she had fallen hard. Even though the couple had only been dating for a very short while, not even a month, she couldn't deny the strong feelings that she had for him since early that fall. After first period ended, she left the classroom without waiting for Joey like she usually did. She walked to the bathroom and shut herself in one of the stalls. Once she was sure she was alone, she began to cry.

Mokuba Kaiba and his older brother were very close. Mokuba knew his brother and he knew him well. That's why he knew that something was wrong with Seto. His older brother lead on that his breakup didn't bother him, but his younger brother couldn't be fooled. He knew the breakup was tearing him apart inside. A month had passed since the couple's breakup and Seto's mood hadn't changed. The younger Kaiba walked up to his brother's office, knowing very well that that's where he would be. He'd locked himself up there every day since returning home from the hospital.

"Seto?" he asked, peeking his head around the door. Seto sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his brother so upset. Come to think of it, he didn't think he'd ever seen his brother this upset. Even after their parents died, Seto had put on a strong face, but now the strong exterior was cracking.

"What is it Mokuba?" he asked, looking up upon his brother's entrance.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am." It was a lie. Pain had been something he'd been quite familiar with since his parents died, but this pain was different. It was worse. The pain he felt was a constant reminder of his shortcomings. He never thought he could be hurt this way. He was foolish enough to let his guard down. He was foolish enough to show vulnerability to her and he paid the price.

"Don't lie to me Seto. It's clear you still have feelings for her so why don't you just go call her."

"Because I'm not an idiot Mokuba. She lied about everything. How am I supposed to believe anything she said?"

"You're being overdramatic Seto. Just talk to her. It's clear she loved you. And it's clear you still want to be with her so just go call her."

"Why would I ever want to talk to her again after what she did to me? She nearly got me killed. She's probably just another lowlife after my company!"

"Are you even hearing yourself right now? Not everything is about your company! You need to stop being afraid and-." Seto scoffed, cutting off his younger brother.

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of being vulnerable and opening up to another person-."

"Don't start playing therapist with me Mokuba."

"I'm not. I'm your brother and I'm worried about you. You've been like this for a month and since you aren't doing anything about it, I'm taking matters into my own hands. You need to snap out of this and forget about being weak! You love her so go talk to her!" Seto just turned his attention away from his younger brother and stared out the window.

"Fine. Do whatever you want Seto." Mokuba pulled a small envelope out of his pocket and threw it on Seto's desk. "She left this in the mailbox for you." With those words, he left. Seto didn't move for several seconds. Finally, he turned in his seat and picked up the envelope. He opened it and pulled out the things that were inside. The two tickets to The Phantom of the Opera were inside along with a note.

**Seto-**

** I don't know where to start exactly. I'm sorry I lied to you. I should've told you about everything but I was afraid. I was afraid that if I told anyone about my past then I wouldn't make any friends here. I know that's kind of a selfish reason but according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you have to have acceptance to reach self-actualization. Sorry, that was another useless fact probably. I'm apparently full of those. I'm so sorry Seto. I did care about you though. A lot. I fell for you and I feel like such an idiot for lying to you like this. Here's the two tickets to Phantom. I don't want to take anything else from you. Maybe you can take Mokuba. I'm sorry. I love you.**

**-Alissa Todd**

"Can you hand me a towel please Yugi?" Alissa asked, standing with her head in the sink.

"I don't know if I like this. I liked you when you're hair was natural not Honey Chocolate," he murmured, reading the name off the box on the counter. "Besides, why do you want to do this anyway? Are you really going to change for-."

"Don't say it Yugi. I'm not doing this to forget him. I'm doing this to create a new me. Tony's gone and in the past where he belongs. I want my old self to be there too. Besides, what's done is done," she said. "Now can you please hand me a towel, my neck is cramping." Yugi handed her a towel and she wrapped it around her wet hair. After squeezing the rest of the water out of her hair, she removed the towel and turned towards Yugi.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"It's different," Yugi said slowly. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned.

"I look awful!" she shrieked.

"No, no you don't!" Yugi assured. "It's just different."

"It's not bad?" She turned her attention back to Yugi.

"Of course not." She looked back at her reflection and played with the now light brown strands.

"I guess it will just take some getting used to. Well I'm going to finish up in here."

"Should we order Sushi?" he asked. "Or we could bake some cookies?" She smiled. Sushi and Yugi's homemade cookies were her Band-Aids in food form and Yugi knew it. He always knew how to make her feel better.

"How about both?"

"Okay. I'll go start the dough." She finished drying her hair then changed into a pair of old sweat pants and a tank top. When she reached the kitchen, Yugi was already mixing some of the ingredients in a bowl.

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Can you crack the eggs?"

"Sure." She strode towards the fridge and pulled out a few eggs. She brought them over to the counter and began to crack them.

"Remember not to get any of the shells in there."

"I know what I'm doing," she said with a small grin. She remembered the first time she had offered to help Yugi bake. She had never been a god cook. Yugi discovered this fact when she nearly burnt down his house when she helped him bake cookies. When she had started to arrange the raw dough on the pan, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Yugi volunteered, noticing that her hands were covered in cookie dough. He descended down the stairs to get the door as she continued to place dough on the tray. She wiped her hands on her apron when she heard footsteps coming back up the stairs.

"Is that the sushi?" she asked. "I hope you didn't tip him too well. Fresh sushi in thirty minutes or less my ass!" She exited the kitchen only to meet up with Yugi and someone else. Someone she never expected to see.

"Kaiba?"

**And end! Oh God I'm such an awful person! I keep leaving you guys on cliffhangers! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, reviews are appreciated:) I do take suggestions, so if you have any ideas of where you'd like the story to go don't be afraid to share them. I'm always open to new ideas that I can turn into fun plot twists(laughs evilly). Anyway! I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you guys next update.**


	23. Chapter 23

**So, my story has reached 32 reviews and that makes me insanely happy! Little fun fact, reaching 100 reviews on a story on Fanfiction is actually on my bucket list (I know I'm pathetic) and now I'm closer to crossing something off my bucket list! SO with that said, I wanted to say thanks again for the reviews. Anyway, I'm sorry for always leaving things on a cliffhanger, but I promise this chapter won't end on a cliffhanger! At least I don't plan on it ending that way. Well, either way, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter.**

"Kaiba?" She asked in shock. Saying that she was shocked to see him standing at the entrance to Yugi's kitchen would be an understatement. They hadn't talked in a month. Not once had he reached out in attempts to mend the relationship that was shattered. Yet, here he was standing in front of her. She quickly dropped her gaze to her hands that were clenched tightly in front of her. She couldn't look him in the eyes. She didn't deserve to.

"You dyed your hair." It was a simple statement. It was said so casually, as if the two were merely talking about the weather. His voice had her bringing her attention back to his face. She still didn't look him in the eyes.

"Oh. Yeah, I did," she said, awkwardly playing with one of the newly dyed strands.

"Can we…" He cut off. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.

"I'll um, leave you guys to talk," Yugi said slowly, taking a couple steps towards the stairs. It was clear that the two needed to talk. That's why Kaiba had come after all.

"This is your house Yugi. You stay up here and Kaiba and I will go downstairs and talk. Besides, you know how to operate your oven better than I do." Yugi nodded stiffly at her before retreating back to the kitchen. The walk down the stairs seemed to last for an eternity. He had only come here to please Mokuba. Who was he kidding? He knew that the only reason he was here was because he wanted to be. Although he'd die before admitting it, he was wrong and he wanted to make things right. Upon reaching the first floor, an awkward silence descended upon the two. Neither of them was sure of what to say.

"I got your note," he finally said. "Why did you give the tickets back?" When he said this, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She wrote the not for the sole purpose of him reading it, but she didn't expect him to actually read it. In fact, she was almost certain he wouldn't read it. He was too proud. At least, that's what she thought.

"There's no reason for me to have them anymore."

"I gave them to you. I didn't want them back Alis-…uh er-." He cut himself off. He wasn't sure of what to call her anymore. At school, everyone continued to call her Ronnie, but she claimed her real name was Alissa.

"I don't know what to call you," he continued. "At school they still call you Ronnie but-."

"No one else knows my story besides you and Yugi, that's why," she said, cutting him off.

"You told Muto?"

"I had to, I'm living with him. It's the least I owed him."

"Why are you living here?"

"Because you kicked me o-."

"That's not what I mean. I had thought you'd be living with Tea."

"There wasn't room." Why was she even answering his questions? She didn't owe him anything. He had ignored her for a month. Now, when it was convenient for him, he was here. Well she was sick of it. She was sick of the games. Her patience was wearing thin. She was done being sad, now she was just angry. Angry with him and angry with herself.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I thought you didn't owe me anything." She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Why won't you look at me?"

"I don't deserve to."

"Of course you do."

"That's not what you seem to think. Now answer my question. Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk."

"Oh right. Now that things are convenient for you, you want to talk right?" she asked sarcastically. "Well maybe now isn't a good time for me." He let out a frustrated sigh. He should've known this would happen. He should've known she'd be too hardheaded to listen to him right away. Even though it was clear that she missed him, and she had admitted to it, she wasn't going to make things easy for him.

"You're being childish," he sighed.

"Oh that's just me isn't it? The child. I'm always so childish about everything!" Sarcasm and anger dripped from every word. "You said you don't owe me anything, well I don't owe you anything. I tried apologizing. It's not my fault you're too proud to accept the apology!"

"I know."

"And another thing! I-." She stopped. "Wait, did you just say I know?" Had he just admitted that he was too proud?

"Yes."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that Kaiba would admit to being too proud. Are meteors going to start falling? Should I start taking evasive action?" A small smirk played at his lips at her sarcastic remark.

"It's nice to know that your sarcastic manner hasn't changed." His statement usually would've made her smile, but she wasn't going to forgive him that easily.

"Well. You said you wanted to talk. So talk."

"I'm sorry. For ignoring you, for not believing your story, for everything really."

"You honestly thought I'd lie about something like that?'

"I'm not sure what I thought. You lied about everything else."

"I know and I'm s-."

"Don't waste my time with apologies," he interrupted. "You already apologized, now it's my turn to make things right." She stayed silent and waited for him to continue speaking.

"I believe you. Your story I mean. I've never opened up to someone besides Mokuba. The fact that it was so easy to open up to you scared me. It made me feel vulnerable and I didn't like it. When you told me the truth, I felt betrayed. I had trusted you and opened up to you. You're the only person besides Mokuba that knows about my stepfather's abuse. To tell you the truth, I was hurt when you told me your story. I tried to run away from my feelings but I couldn't. I can't deny the fact that I still care about you. I'm done running. I just want to be with you." He reached out and grasped her hands in his.

"You mean that?"

"I wouldn't have come here if I didn't mean it. Don't be stupid."

"As charming as ever," she said with a shy smile. Suddenly, the Brazilian necklace around her neck began to glow. Seto took a step back in alarm. He watched as the glowing light became more intense. He put his arm in front of his face to protect his eyes from the harsh light.

"Seto." Her voice was rough and frigid. He unshielded his eyes and his gaze rested on her. Immediately, his eyes glazed over. She raised a finger and gestured him to follow her. As if he was a puppet on strings, he followed her towards the door. The duo passed through the game shop and was almost out the door when a voice stopped them.

"Alissa?" Solomon asked. When she turned his attention towards him, he gasped. "You aren't Alissa!"

"Stay out of this old man." Her voice was cold and robotic. With a wave of her hand, he went crashing to the ground. She exited the game shop with Seto following closely behind.

Yugi continued making the cookies as Alissa and Kaiba talked downstairs. He pulled the finished cookies out and switched off the oven. A crash from downstairs had Yugi dropping the tray and rushing down the stairs. The door to the game shop was wide open and his grandfather lay on the floor, groaning.

"Grandpa!" He rushed to his grandfather's side and helped him into the sitting position. "Are you alright?"

"You need to follow them Yugi," the old man said.

"Who? Kaiba and Alissa? What's going on?"

"She's wearing the Heart of Iara. Kaiba is in terrible danger."

"I'll find them."

"Be careful Yugi. Alissa isn't what she seems."

"What do you mean Grandpa?"

"She's a siren."

Yugi and the gang ran down the streets in search of Kaiba and Alissa.

"They could be anywhere. How do we know where to look?" Tristan asked as the group stopped to catch their breath.

"We should check by the beach," Yugi said, his breathing heavy. "That's probably where they'd go." After a couple more seconds of rest, the gang started running in the direction of the beach.

"Who woulda' thought Ronnie was a siren?" Joey asked. "I guess that explains why she had Kaiba wrapped 'round her finger."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why the rest of us weren't affected," Tristan pointed out. "Or any other guy she came into contact with for that matter."

"We can figure that stuff out later. Right now we need to focus on finding Kaiba before it's too late," Yugi said in determination.

_Do you think we'll find them?_

_ Of course we will Yugi. Would you like to switch?_

_ No, let me do this. I think I'll be able to get through to her._

"Hey there they are!" Tea called, pointing to two figures walking down the beach. The group picked up speed to catch up with them. The sound of their footsteps had Alissa turning her attention towards them. The group froze when her icy glare fell on them. Her hair was now pure white and long, reaching almost to her ankles. Her eyes that were usually light green, were now the color of emeralds. She smiled at the group, exposing her sharpened teeth.

"You're not Ronnie!" Joey gasped in surprise.

"You are a sharp one aren't you?" she asked with a chuckle.

"What do you want with Kaiba?" Tristan asked. She traced a thin finger over Kaiba's neck. She could feel his pulse beneath his smooth skin.

"I want him as a snack."

"Why Kaiba? Are the rest of us not good enough for ya?" Joey asked. The laugh that came out of her mouth was enough to make the group's skin crawl.

"Don't take it personally. Of course, if you're really that torn up about it, I'll have you for seconds."

"Alissa I know you're in there! You need to fight it!" Yugi yelled.

"Alissa? Who's Alissa?" Tristan asked in confusion. _Shit. He had just called her Alissa. He hadn't meant to do that._

"That's a story she'll have to explain to you," he answered. Alissa took advantage of the brief distraction to journey into the ocean. Kaiba followed behind her.

"She's taking him into the ocean!" Tristan called, snapping the attention back to the duo. The water was up to Kaiba's stomach now and they continued to move deeper. They had to do something and quick. Otherwise Kaiba would be this siren's next meal. The sound of humming suddenly reached their ears. Tristan and Joey's eyes suddenly went blank. They started heading towards the water in pursuit of the siren.

"Tristan! Joey!" Tea screamed. "We have to do something!" She turned towards Yugi who nodded. _Why isn't the siren's song affecting me? Maybe it has something to do with my puzzle,_ he thought. Tea started running into the water after them. She stopped froze when she saw how deep they had gone. By now, the water had reached the boys' chests. Yugi swam after them, desperately trying to save his friends before they became food.

"Alissa stop! You need to fight her!" Yugi shouted. The siren just laughed.

"It's too late." She positioned her mouth above Kaiba's neck, about to take a bite.

_Yugi the necklace! Get rid of the necklace!_ Yami's voice echoed in Yugi's head. Yugi dove forward and ripped the necklace from Alissa's neck. The chain snapped, spilling beads into the water. The siren screamed and swung her arm at Yugi. Her hand connected with his head, sending him into unconsciousness. She screamed again as her body began to glow. The glow dimmed and Alissa returned to normal. She let out a small groan and fell unconscious. The boys who had been under the siren's trance were snapped free.

"What happened?" Joey asked in confusion. He caught sight of Alissa and Yugi unconscious in the water.

"Yugi!" Joey shouted.

"Alissa!" Kaiba shouted at the same time. Joey pulled Yugi onto his back while Kaiba did the same with Alissa. When they were brought towards the shore Tea gasped.

"Are they okay?" The two were laid on the sand.

"They're both breathing. They'll be fine," Tristan said after briefly looking at both of them. Yugi woke first.

"Yug! Little buddy!" Joey said, pulling his head towards him to rub his knuckles on his head.

"I'm fine Joey," he laughed. "I'm just glad you guys are okay." Alissa woke next. When her eyes opened, they met with blue ones that were hovering over hers.

"Seto?" Relief flooded through the CEO. He offered her a hand and puller her to her feet.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You're asking the wrong person," he answered. "Yugi. What happened?" Yugi was unsure if he should tell the couple what happened. They probably wouldn't believe him anyway. But he did owe them the truth.

"Well. It's kind of a long story."

**There's that chapter! See, it wasn't a cliffhanger this time! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hopefully it wasn't too confusing. This is the eighth draft of this chapter but I still think it's kind of confusing. But if you have questions, just leave them in the reviews and I'll answer them in the next chapter. Oh and I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I have a busy week coming up. I'll try to find time to write, but no promises. I'm just letting you guys know that the next chapter probably won't be up until next weekend. Until then, peace out girl scouts.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter! This chapter got written a lot quicker than I thought. Sorry for the quality of last chapter. It was probably a bit confusing but not to worry. Everything will be explained in this chapter. Anyway, I'll let you guys read on so you can get answers. Read and enjoy!**

The group now sat in Yugi's kitchen. Yugi's grandfather sat with them. Alissa clutched a blanket close to her cold body.

"Alright. Care to explain what's going on?" she asked. Yugi rubbed the back of his head in response. He already knew that Kaiba didn't believe in magic, but was Alissa the same way?

"It's going to sound crazy," he warned. Seto scoffed.

"It's not more of that bull about magic is it?" Alissa glared at him and he fell silent.

"Just let him talk," she said. She turned her attention back to Yugi and urged him to continue on.

"You were possessed by a being name Iara," Yugi started. "Her spirit resided in the necklace you always wore." She brought her hand to her neck where the necklace would usually be sitting. It suddenly dawned on her that it was missing. She couldn't help but feel hurt. That necklace was the last piece she had of her mother.

"What did you do with my necklace?"

"It's destroyed." He didn't need him to elaborate. The shame in his voice made his answer obvious. He had been the one to destroy the necklace.

"What?" she asked in anger. "How could you do that? That was the last thing I had left of my mother!"

"I don't think you realize how dangerous that necklace was," Solomon cut in. "The spirit inside of it was a siren. That's why you were able to convince Mr. Kaiba to do things he normally wouldn't do."

"You're more crazy than I thought old man!" Seto snapped. "You expect us to believe that? I'm the master of my own destiny! No one controls me!"

"Would you stop being so skeptical for a minute?" Alissa snapped.

"You don't obviously believe this do you?"

"I'm not saying I believe it's true, but we ended up at the beach somehow. If you have another idea of how we got there then I'd like to hear it." He fell silent again and crossed his arms. The last thing he wanted was another fight with her. She hadn't said she'd forgiven him and he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. He didn't want to make things worse.

"Alright." She turned her attention back to Yugi's grandfather. "Let's say that I was in fact possessed by a siren. Why weren't other people affected by me?"

"Others were. Joey and Tristan were affected tonight."

"I mean at school. Why weren't others affected at school?"

"The way Iara draws in her victims is with her voice. That's how she puts them under her spell."

"So you're saying I enchanted Seto, Joey, and Tristan with my singing voice? Oh please, I'm not Snow White."

"No matter who the person is, if they wear the Heart of Iara their voice becomes controlling. In Brazilian mythology, Iara drew unlucky sailors to their deaths with her voice."

"So you're saying that whenever I played guitar and sang I was possessed by Iara?"

"Not possessed, but under her control."

"What's the difference?"

"Possession is what you experienced tonight. But when you enchanted Kaiba, she was only using you as a puppet. You were aware of everything you were doing, but she was using her magical abilities to draw Kaiba in."

"This is all a load of bull," Seto snapped. "You expect us to believe all this?" While Seto was clearly unbelieving, Alissa was on a whole other page. She believed them. Yugi could tell by her guilt-ridden expression.

"Don't feel bad," he told her quickly. "None of this was your fault." She scoffed.

"Yeah. Right. It's all going to be okay. I only almost killed three of my friends. That's no big deal." Sarcasm dripped from her words.

"You can't blame yourself for this. You stopped before you hurt someone and that's all that matters. Besides, the necklace is gone and so is Iara. She can't hurt anyone now."

"That doesn't change the fact that I nearly killed someone." She turned away from them and wrapped her arms around herself. "That would be the second time in a month someone almost died because of me."

"That isn't tr-."

"What are you going to say Yugi? That what I'm saying isn't true? I hate to break it to all of you, but it is true! I'm a mess and obviously a danger to be around!" She turned on her heels and walked down the stairs. Everyone stood up from their spot to go and console her. They stopped when Seto stood.

"Let me go talk to her."

"Yeah, like she'd want to talk to ya Money Bags? You'll probably only make matters worse!"

"Joey, maybe Kaiba's right," Yugi spoke up, causing the blonde to turn towards him. "He knows how to calm her down more than we do." Joey didn't want to admit it, but Yugi was probably right.

"Yeah, whatever," Joey said, crossing his arms. "But if he hurts her again-." Joey's over protective older brother personality was starting to show. Although Alissa wasn't actually related to him, he protected her like she was another sister.

"He won't." Seto had ignored this whole conversation and was already halfway down the stairs. She was heading towards the front door.

"Are you just going to keep running from your problems?" he asked when he saw her. She turned towards him with a frown.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to make sure you weren't planning on doing anything stupid."

"You don't have to waste your time. I don't need a babysitter. Besides, I thought you didn't owe me anything." He let out a sigh. She was being difficult.

"You're being-."

"What? Childish? Why don't you just leave then? I'm clearly too much to handle."

"That isn't true. Why are you beating yourself up over something so trivial?"

"Your life isn't something trivial!" she yelled, voice cracking. "This is the second time you've nearly died because of me! How many more times is something like this going to happen before your luck runs out?" It finally hit him. She wasn't mad at him like he thought she was. She was mad at herself. She still blamed the whole situation with Tony on herself.

"I took that knife for you because I wanted to. It was my own decision to gamble with my own life. It wasn't your fault."

"If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been in that position in the first place."

"You're so infuriating! When are you going to see that everything isn't your fault?"

"When it stops being my fault!"

"You need to snap out of it now! Stop feeling sorry for yourself!"

"Then stop trying to fix me!"

"I'm not trying to fix you, I'm trying to make you stop acting like an idiot and-."

"No! You're trying to fix something that can't be fixed! When are you going to realize that I ruin everything I touch? Just give up on me; your life and everyone else's will be safer that way. Besides, I'm a lost cause."

"Seto Kaiba doesn't give up on anything." His words caused tears to form in her eyes. _Why isn't he leaving?_ She blinked rapidly to ride herself of the tears. She wasn't about to cry in front of him. But when his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace, she couldn't hold them in anymore. She began to cry. She clutched onto the back of his white coat that was still slightly damp from the ocean water.

"I'm sorry," she cried, her voice slightly muffled by his black shirt. "I'm sorry I almost killed you. I'm sorry I lied."

"If you're sorry then stop apologizing," he snapped. "I forgive you." She pulled her face from out of his chest and looked up at him.

"I thought that you'd hate me forever," she admitted. "The past month has been hell. So many times I just wanted to walk up and talk to you, but I knew you'd ignore me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You had every right to be mad."

"No I didn't." He paused and cupped her cheek in his palm. "I shouldn't have doubted you." She placed her hand over his. The warmth from his hand was enough to send tingles down her spine.

"I wasn't lying when I told you I'd fallen in love with you. One lie isn't going to change that Ro-." He stopped. "I'm still not sure what you want me to call you."

"Alissa. My name's Alissa." She stopped speaking suddenly. If she were going to go by her real name now, that would cause confusion at school. To everyone at Domino High, she was Veronica Warren. She wanted to leave every piece of her lie in the past, but how was she supposed to sort things out at the school.

"What about school?" she asked.

"What about it?" he asked in confusion.

"At school I'm Veronica Warren. I want to leave my lies in the past, but how will I do that without causing confusion?"

"We'll figure something out. Right now, there's something more important we need to discuss."

"What?" Suddenly, he spun her around until her back was pressed against the wall. He put an arm on either side of her body, boxing her in.

"I took a knife for you." He paused to bring his mouth close to her ear. "And now I require payment." She didn't get a chance to speak before his lips were on hers. She immediately melted into his kiss, tangling her fingers into his thick hair. The feeling of his lips on hers was something she'd wanted for a month and visa versa. After a month, they had agreed to give their relationship a second chance. Their relationship still had a lot of growth ahead, but for now they were both just glad to be in each other's company. For the first time since the day at the hospital, they were both happy.

**Yay! They're back together. So, before an angry mob attacks me, yes I'm aware Seto is probably O.O.C. in this chapter. But to be honest, I couldn't figure out a way to write this chapter without making him slightly O.O.C. Hopefully it wasn't too bad but like I've said before, this is my first story in which I've written this characters. So they won't be perfect. Anyway, I hope you guys found this chapter enjoyable. Let me know what you guys think!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hello again people of the internet! Um, sorry this update took a while. Online classes suck, just thought I'd let you all know. But I guess that's what I get for sucking at math…anyway. This chapter took me FOREVER to write because I was hit with a pretty severe case of writer's block. I had where I wanted to go in my mind but I could not for the life of me figure out how to freaking get there. So this chapter will end up being filler probably. Joy. Oh, and I was planning on making a sequel to this story but I might end up combining the two stories together instead. Would that be preferred for you faithful readers? Let me know whether you want this story to be broken up into two books or not. Alright, well I've talked long enough. Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

The couple finally parted, both with their cheeks tinted pink.

"We should go back upstairs," Alissa said softly, moving her hands down to clasp Seto's. "We were making cookies before we were rudely interrupted." She flashed him a grin to show that she was teasing him.

"You were baking? I'm surprised this place isn't burned down by now. Your baking skills are slightly inadequate."

"I'm not that bad!" she defended. "I can cook other things, baked goods just hate me. Besides, you have no room to judge Mister 'I'm Not Much Of A Cook'."

"If I recall correctly, I didn't have any problems baking the dessert for Christmas dinner." She tossed him a lopsided smirk.

"Congratulations. You can follow directions on a note card." The sarcasm in her voice had him trying to hide an amused smirk.

"Congratulations, you can articulate a comeback without too much trouble." She fell silent. He couldn't help but smile inwardly at his victory.

"Alright," she said, raising her hands. "You got this round. Now that you got your ego boost, how about we go join the others?" As soon as the duo returned to the others, the group of four rushed to Alissa.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tristan asked, a look of concern in his dark eyes.

"Of course I'll be okay," she said with a large smile. "I was just being melodramatic. I'll be fine. Now, who's up for cookies? I'll go grab them from the kitchen." Tristan and Joey scrambled over each other to reach the kitchen first.

"It's alright Ronnie, we'll get 'em!" Joey volunteered, disappearing into the kitchen. Alissa sighed. She knew the time would come when she would have to tell the rest of the group the truth about her past. She just hoped that they would be as supportive as Yugi was when he was told.

"I have to tell you guys something," Alissa started.

"What is it?" Tea asked.

"Yeah Ronnie, what's wrong?" Joey asked, returning from the kitchen with Tristan. Both of them had several cookies in their hands. She let out a nervous sigh then began her story. After sharing her story, she was relieved when the group offered support.

"Thank you for being there for me guys. I was so afraid that people wouldn't want to have anything to do with me because of what happened."

"Of course we'll be there for you Alissa. We're friends and there's nothing that could ever change that. Friends until the end!" Seto couldn't help but roll his eyes. Tea was going on one of her friendship rants again. The sound of her voice preaching about the importance of friendship always gave him a headache. The crack of thunder snapped Seto's thoughts back to reality. A streak of lightning flashed across the dark sky. Alissa grinned and rushed to the window to stare at the storm outside.

"I love thunder storms!"

"The storm looks really bad," Yugi said, staring outside the window alongside Alissa. "Maybe you guys should just stay here for the night." _No,_ Seto thought. _There's no way I'm staying here all night with the dweeb patrol, even if Alissa is here._

"That's just fine," Seto said monotonously. "I don't want to spend my night stuck with you dorks, so I'll just call my chauffeur."

"What, ya think you're too good for us Money Bags?" Joey asked crossly. Before Joey could step forward and start a fight, Alissa pulled herself away from the window and stepped between them.

"Will you two ever stop arguing? I swear you two are like children fighting over a toy on the playground. Seto, you don't have to stay here but you could at least be polite. They're my friends and I don't like the way you treat them. And Joey, don't start trouble. You should know by now that Seto just says stuff like that to get a rise out of you. If you let him see you upset, he won. Control your temper." Joey crossed his arm with frown.

"He started it," he grumbled.

"Well I just ended it." Joey stepped back, still grumbling. Seto couldn't help but smirk. He enjoyed seeing the mutt get knocked down to size. Alissa was about to lay into Seto for his attitude towards Joey getting reprimanded when the doorbell rang. She disappeared down the stairs then returned about a minute later with take out boxes in her hands.

"The delivery guy is lucky it was storming out because he did not deserve a tip! My sushi was twenty minutes late, the little punk!" she said, placing the take out boxes on the coffee table. _Thank God Yugi and I ordered a few extra orders._ "So, who wants sushi? There's plenty to go around."

"That depends, did ya order any Hamachi?" Joey asked.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Of course I ordered Hamachi! It's my favorite."

"Well then don't mind if I do," Joey said with a weird laugh. He took one of the boxes from off the coffee table and began to eat.

"Anyone else want some? If so, you better speak up because there won't be any left for much longer," she said grinning and tossing a glance to Joey. "Tea? Tristan? Seto?" Tristan and Tea smiled and grabbed one box each.

"I already ate," Seto answered tonelessly. "Now if you excuse me, I have a phone call to make." He left the room while dialing a number on his cell phone.

"So, seeing as today is the second Friday of the month which is our monthly movie night, what genre are we watching tonight?" Alissa asked, picking up a take out box and resting on the couch. "We could go with comedy or we can go with that stupid car exploding action-y shit. Or we could go horror, which by the way would be perfect considering the weather."

"I wonder which one Alissa wants to watch?" Joey asked sarcastically, earning grins from the group.

"Oh shut it Wheeler you stupid blonde," Alissa shot back with a wide smile.

"I'm fine with watching some scary movies," Tristan agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, I guess horror would be alright," Joey added. Alissa turned her attention to Tea and Yugi. They were the much gentler of the bunch. Although the vote was unanimous, she had to make sure that they'd be alright with it.

"Tea? Yugi? What do you think?"

"Just make sure it isn't something too gory. Those slasher movies are disgusting," Tea answered. Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Paranormal movies it is. I'll get my laptop and DVDs." She headed towards Yugi's room where her backpack was. She pulled her laptop out of her book bag then grabbed some of her DVDs from off the shelf in the hallway. She stacked the DVDs on top of her laptop and made her way back to the living room. Due to the stack of DVDs she couldn't see what was in front of her. She let out a small squeak when she bumped into someone. The stack of DVDs fell everywhere.

"Sorry Seto!" she apologized, bending down to pick up the fallen DVDs. He bent down next to her and started to help her pick up the DVDs. He handed her his stack of retrieved DVDs.

"Thank you."

"You know if you weren't so clumsy things like this wouldn't be a problem."

"Oh my God that's so funny! You're so clever! Did you think of that all by yourself?" she asked sarcastically, pulling herself to her feet. She couldn't stop the grin from forming on her lips. She loved their constant banter. He was a challenge and always kept her on her toes and she loved it.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

"Yes."

"You sure you don't want to stay? We're going to watch scary movies."

"Scary movies aren't my thing. They're all far too predictable."

"If you say so. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She gave him a quick peck on the lips before continuing into the living room. He followed close behind then disappeared down the stairs.

"Alright, well let's get this movie night started!" Alissa cheered, sitting back on the couch and starting up her computer. The group of friends gathered around and focused their attention on the laptop. Alissa looked around at her friends and smiled. She had the best friends ever. Not to mention, she had Seto. Although he acted cold on the outside, she had been one of the lucky few he'd allowed to get close enough to him to show his true colors. With this in mind, she finally felt truly happy which was something she hadn't felt in a long time. She wouldn't have it any other way.

**Alright. That chapter is finally done! Um, this chapter sucks really badly. I apologize for that, especially since it took so long for me to update. Next chapter will be longer, better, and more exciting I promise. I probably won't be able to start writing it till Sunday though because tomorrow is my birthday and my parents are taking me out to dinner and Saturday I'm having a reunion with some of y friends who I haven't seen all summer. I should be able to write quite a bit after that hopefully because I'm moving down to college on Tuesday. It sounds like I shouldn't have time considering I'll be packing, but Tuesday I have an eight hour drive so I'll likely be typing then. Anyway, long story short, expect an update early next week. Also, I have started an account on Fictionpress. I have an original story on there but I'm working on editing it some. My pen name is the same as it is on here. So go check it out if you want! Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter despite the slightly crappy quality. Until next time!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! I just wanted to say thank you to seravam for the birthday wish and review. It really made my day:) Anyway! I have a story that I think you guys might find interesting. My friends thought it would be a brilliant idea to use a Ouija board. At first we were just asking stupid questions like what's your name, how old are you, etc. BUT then my friend asked the ghost to show us a sign that it was there( I know my friend is an idiot) and then the BIGGEST spider I have EVER seen in all my eighteen years of life crawled across the board! It was one of the scariest things I have ever witnessed and I don't scare easily. Anyway, we all started screaming so my dad came and crushed the spider with an encyclopedia. So that's my story, I thought some of you might find that amusing. Anywho! Before I get too distracted, let's get on with the next chapter shall we?**

The sound of soft clicking filled the home office of Seto Kaiba. He sat at his desk, typing furiously on his laptop. _I'm surrounded by idiots_, he thought as he scanned through the several codes on his computer screen. A knock on the door caused him to growl low in his throat. Hadn't the maid figured out that he didn't like to be disturbed when he was in the middle of working? She was new but she surely couldn't be that dense. However, when Seto opened the door he found Alissa standing there, laptop in hand.

"Hey. Are you busy?" she asked. He threw a quick glance at his laptop then shook his head.

"I was actually about to take a break."

"Are you sure? If you're busy I can just come back later."

"I'm sure. I can only deal with idiots so many hours at a time." He stepped out of her way to allow her entrance to his office.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What do you need?"

"Something's wrong with my laptop." She placed her laptop on top of his desk before turning her attention back to him. "I was going to take it in but since I have a boyfriend who's a technology genius, I thought I'd ask you first. That is if you don't mind. I know you're busy."

"What's wrong with it?" he asked, taking a seat at his desk and dragging her laptop towards him.

"I think it's overheated or something. While we were watching movies a notification popped up and then the screen went black. I tried resetting it like the notification said to but it wouldn't start back up."

"Hm." He held the on button down for several seconds but nothing happened. He turned the laptop upside down and examined the air vents. His eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"Did you try clearing out the air vents? That might be the problem. If there's too much dust stuck in the vents the laptop would be incapable of cooling down." He didn't wait for her to respond. He reached into his desk and pulled out a small screwdriver. He removed the screws and took away the bottom part of the laptop. A thick coat of dust covered the vents. _Just as I suspected._ He carefully removed the dust using a towel and a dust brush then screwed the bottom part of the laptop back into place. Once the laptop was right side up again, he pressed the power button. The laptop powered up with a loud BING.

"Problem solved." He handed her the laptop with a triumphant smirk.

"Thanks." She put the laptop into sleep mode then shut it and placed it under the crook of her arm. "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to work then. You seem busy. Thanks again." She turned to leave but stopped when a crack of thunder sounded through the room. She moved to the window and peered out. The sun had been completely covered by dark clouds. A streak of lightning flashed across the sky.

"Okay, it was sunny two minutes ago. The weather here is more bipolar than it is in California, which is saying something." Seto came to stand next to her, his hard gaze fixed on the storm outside.

"The storm doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. You'll have to spend the night."

"Are you sure? I mean I know you have work to do. I don't want to intrude and-."

"It's rare to find me being considerate, so you should take advantage of the times like this. If it was going to be a problem, I wouldn't have bothered to offer."

"Thank you." He didn't respond. He took a seat at his desk and continued with his work.

"I need to finish editing the codes for the newest duel disk upgrade then I should be done."

"Okay. Take your time. I can find something to do. I assume I'll be using my old room?" He briefly nodded at her then turned his attention back to his screen. She left his office and headed in the direction of her old room. She pulled out her cellphone to let Yugi know that she was staying at Seto's.

"Hey Alissa," Yugi greeted upon answering the phone. "Are you almost back? It's storming really badly outside."

"Actually that's why I'm calling. I'm still at Seto's. I was going to stay here for the night since it's so rough outside."

"Oh, okay. Well I'm glad your inside. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Yug." She ended the call and placed her phone back in her pocket. When she reached the room, she couldn't help but smile. This room had been her home for nearly five months. It felt good to return to it, even if it was for just one night. She would probably never say this out loud, but she missed staying at Seto's. During the time that she stayed with Seto and Mokuba, she had felt at home, which was something she hadn't felt since she was fourteen. Although she loved living with Yugi and his grandfather, she couldn't help but miss the Kaiba manor. Yugi and his grandfather made it their highest priority to make Alissa feel at home, but living with them didn't feel like home. She couldn't help but feel like she was burdening them by living there. Their house was small enough with two people. With her living there now, there was even less room. _I really need to get a new place so I don't have to rely on everyone else._ She opened her laptop and started searching for cheap apartments in the area. About an hour later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Seto entered shortly after she spoke.

"It's almost dinner. Mokuba wanted spaghetti"

"Sounds good. I'll eat anything."

"What are you doing?" he asked, noticing that she hadn't torn her gaze away from the computer for even a second.

"Looking for apartments. Yugi's house is small enough as it is. I don't want to overstay my welcome." He came further into the room and sat down on the bed next her.

"Why don't you just stay here?"

"I don't want to be a burden. I-." She stopped when he placed a finger to her lips.

"Stay here," he repeated. He slowly removed his finger from her lips.

"Okay."

The rest of the night passed quickly. Shortly after diner, the electricity in the house went out. The rest of the night consisted of playing board games by the glow of a flashlight. After the fourth game of Clue, Alissa got up and stretched.

"I'm tired. I think I'm going to bed. Do you have any extra toothbrushes?"

"Look in the medicine cabinet. Extra clothes are in the dresser."

"Thank you. I'll see you two in the morning." After quickly getting ready for bed, Alissa crawled beneath the warm covers. The warmth of the down comforter caused her to quickly drift off into slumber.

_ "You broke our deal Veronica," he hissed. "If I can't have you, then you're of no use to me!" He chucked the knife as hard as he could in her direction. The speed at which the knife was thrown would ensure a significant amount of damage. The knife connected, digging deeply into the chest of whom it had hit. Releasing a small gasp of pain, the person who had been hit collapsed to their knees then to ground._

_ "Seto no!" The sound of sirens filled the air as more police and the ambulance drew closer. Alissa fell to her knees next to Seto and carefully removed the knife as three officers ran to them. One of the officers tackled Tony to the ground and handcuffed, the second rushed to the cop that had previously been shot in the shoulder. The last officer pulled Alissa away from Seto._

_ "No!" she screamed, wrenching herself free of the cop's grip. "Stay awake Seto. Please! You need to stay awake!" Seto's eyes slid to hers. A small trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth. Her eyes widened in fear as his eyes fluttered then closed._

_ "No Seto! Please, wake up! You need to stay awake!"_

_ "Miss you need to step back," the officer said sternly, pulling to her feet. He blocked her from returning to Seto's side._

_ "No please-."_

_ "Let the ambulance do their job Miss." Alissa was so caught up in fear that she didn't notice that the ambulance had arrived. The first responders loaded him into the back of the ambulance. As they were doing this, she looked down at her shaking hands. They were covered in blood._

Alissa returned to consciousness with a loud scream. She sat up in bed, her breathing shallow. She covered her mouth with her hand when she realized that she had screamed for real. _Oh God I hope I didn't wake anyone._ The sound of footsteps made her feel a bit guilty. She had woken someone. The door opened to reveal an unkempt Seto. His usually neatly combed hair was sticking up in several places from bed head. A deep frown was between his brows. He hadn't even put on a shirt before running down the hall.

"What happened? Is everything alright in here?" To everyone else, they would think he wasn't worried in the slightest. But Alissa knew Seto. She could tell he was concerned.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I woke you. It was just a nightmare." He didn't look convinced. He took a seat on the bed next to her.

"There was so much blood," she whispered.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't ever take a knife for me again." He was slightly shocked by this statement. He didn't know that she was having nightmares about what happened.

"Alissa-."

"Please." He dragged her into a tight embrace.

"It was a dream."

"Yeah, but it actually happened. It was a memory."

"Exactly. It happened. Everything is back to normal now. I'm fine, you're fine, and Tony's in jail. He can't do anything to hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"I'm capable of taking care of myself Alissa. I've been taking care of my brother and myself for years now." She nodded into his chest. However, the dream still left her shaken.

"Stay with me. Please." He didn't respond. He just pulled the covers back for himself and positioned himself next to her. They both rested their head on the pillows, facing each other. Her gaze fell on the new, pink scar on his chest. She stuck out her hand and gently ran her fingertips over the raised flesh. She stopped when he gripped her hand and pulled it away from his new scar.

"Stop. It wasn't your fault."

"It was. The knife was meant for me."

"Stop blaming yourself."

"I thought you were dead. You were bleeding so much and then you fell unconscious." Her voice was strained. "I thought you'd never wake up." He moved himself closer to her and placed a soft kiss on her eyebrow.

"But I did wake up. I was fine. Do you forget how resilient we Kaibas are?" She grinned at him then positioned herself so her head rested against his chest. She listened to the soft sound of his heartbeat. The heartbeat that just a little over a month ago she was afraid she'd never hear again. The soft and steady beating sound lulled her back to sleep.

**And there we go! The next chapter is complete! Wow, we're so close to thirty chapters! Driving in cars is boring so I'll work on the next chapter as well and hopefully I'll have that one up soon as well but I'll definitely have this one up obviously since this is the end author's note. Anyway! I thought this chapter turned out pretty good. Seto was probably a bit O.O.C but I tried to make him as realistic as possible. Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint. R&R dear readers! Until next time, I love you all. You guys kick ass!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Um so hey guys. Here's chapter twenty-seven. And this story isn't even close to being over yet. I still have a lot planned. Well…I guess technically THIS story will be over soon but the plot carries on in the sequel. Anyway, don't worry there's still a lot in store for these people. They haven't even battled Dartz yet! You'll all see what I mean soon enough.**

When Alissa woke the next morning, she found herself pressed against Seto with one of his arms lying across her waist. Light snores came from the sleeping CEO. She smiled at how peaceful he looked. The frown that he usually wore when awake was gone. Instead, a calm look was on his face. Pieces of his brown bangs fell into his closed eyes. She took in everything about him. The smoothness of his light skin, the smattering of freckles across his straight nose that one wouldn't notice unless they were face to face with him, and the curve of his jaw and light pink lips.

"Is there something you need? Or is staring at people while they sleep normal for you?" The sound of his voice had her turning a light pink. He slowly opened his eyes and used his free hand to brush the bangs out of his line of vision.

"Thank you for staying with me. You didn't have to stay all night you know. You could've left after I fell asleep."

"I fell asleep too." She covered her mouth with her hand and yawned.

"What time is it?" He removed his arm from around her waist and turned over to face the clock.

"Ten past nine."

"I guess that's a good time as any to wake up. I need to take a shower." She kissed him lightly on the lips then pulled herself out of bed. After showering, brushing her teeth, and getting dressed, she headed downstairs. Mokuba and Seto sat in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Morning Mokuba."

"Good morning Alissa!" Mokuba responded cheerfully. She smiled at him and took a seat in the kitchen. She grasped the last empty plate and stacked a few pancakes on top of it.

"Would you mind dropping me by Yugi's today?" she asked, pouring syrup over her pancakes. "I need to get all my stuff." Seto shook his head.

"You think I'd expect you to walk? Don't be stupid."

"You know a simple 'oh no I don't mind at all Alissa, anything to make your life easier' would have been a suitable response as well," she countered with a grin.

"Is Alissa going to live with us again Seto?"

"Yes. She is." Mokuba grinned broadly. Over the past several months, Alissa had become like a sister to him. The fact that she made Seto so happy made Mokuba like her even more.

"I'll have the limo come around and drop you off." Alissa took a last bite of her meal then got to her feet.

"Thanks. I shouldn't be too long."

Upon reaching Yugi's, Alissa explained her new living arrangements to him. Not long after, all her belongings had been packed into the limo. She now stood outside the entrance to the Kame Game Shop with Yugi and his grandfather.

"I can't thank you guys enough for letting me stay here."

"It was our pleasure Alissa," Solomon said with a smile.

"Yeah Alissa. If you ever need a place to stay, you're always welcome here." Alissa pulled the small boy into a tight hug.

"Thank you Yugi."

"You're welcome Alissa. So I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Okay. See you tomorrow Yugi. Bye Mr. Muto! Thanks again!" She waved goodbye and climbed into the back of the limo. Yugi and Solomon waved back as the limo pulled away into the afternoon sun.

After having moved her things back into the Kaiba mansion, Alissa sat on her bed strumming at her guitar. She plucked at the strings absentmindedly with a small smile on her face.

"Come in," she said after hearing a knock on the door. Seto opened the door and stepped through, avoiding the boxes that littered the floor.

"I was going to ask if you needed assistance unpacking your things but the state of this room gives me my answer."

"Oh please, it isn't that bad Rich Boy." He chuckled, causing her to toss a glare in his direction. "What's so funny?"

"So I'm back to being called Rich Boy?"

"You provoked me," she stated simply, looking back down before he caught the grin on her face. He walked towards one of the boxes and started to pull stuff out of it.

"You don't have to help. I can do it myself." She set her guitar down on the bed and came to stand next to him.

"There are a lot of boxes to unpack. Don't be stupid."

"Hm. Stupid isn't exactly a term of endearment."

"You rather have me call you something else? Idiotic? Dense? A moron?"

"How charismatic of you." She took the few things out of his hands and walked towards the dresser. "If you want to help you can start with the box closest to the door." He didn't respond. He simply moved over to the box by the door and started taking her belongings out of it.

"Where do you want these?" he asked, raising the books up so she could see.

"They're books. Books customarily go on a bookshelf," she answered with a grin.

"Now who's the one being charismatic?" he asked sarcastically, placing her books on the bookshelf near the door.

"Oh bite me." She finished arranging her things on her desk then held her hand out to Seto. "Can you hand me my CDs please. They're in the smaller box by the door." He pulled out the CDs and flipped through them, his eyes scanning the titles.

"Beethoven? Mozart? You don't really strike me as a classical kind of person." He held out the CDs to her.

"It has soothing qualities. After a stressful day, it's nice to come home and listen to Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata or Mozart's Piano Sonata Number Eleven, which is Rondo Alla Turca in case you were wondering."

"I know Mozart," he stated simply. He noticed her frown and quickly added, "I didn't mean it as an insult. You're usually so vivacious it came as a shock to me."

"I'm full of surprises." She took the CDs from him and stacked him on the top shelf of her desk. "Um I guess the picture frame next." He took out a glass picture frame and stared at the picture inside. It was a picture of a four-person family.

"This is your family." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. She moved to stand next to him.

"Yeah. My mom, dad, and little brother Benvolio. We called him Ben though."

"Shakespeare."

"Yeah. My parents loved Shakespeare. They almost named me Ophelia but when I was born I was so joyful. They didn't think the name Ophelia fit. They didn't think any Shakespeare name fit actually. They apparently spent three days with baby books until they came across my name. That's what my name means, joy." She stopped for a minute and placed a hand on the glass frame. "I miss them."

"They'd be proud of you."

"How cliché of you to say that."

"I'm serious."

"I know. Thank you." She took the picture from him and placed it on her nightstand. "Can you hand me that box there." She pointed to the box near her desk. He nodded and lifted the box. He passed it to her and she placed it on her bed. He suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out two rectangular pieces of paper.

"I still have these if you still wanted to go. The show is in a bit more than a month." She grabbed the pieces of paper from him and looked at them. They were the tickets to The Phantom of the Opera.

"Of course I still want to go. Thank you." She placed the tickets in the drawer of her nightstand.

"When we go I thought that we could stay at my cabin afterwards. Since the show is the Saturday after we get off, we'll still have a week left of break."

"As long as the cabin isn't at Camp Crystal Lake then I'll gladly accept your invitation." The confused look on his face caused her smile to falter. "You know Camp Crystal Lake? Friday the Thirteenth? Jason Voorhees? Oh come on you have to know Jason Voorhees! The killer with the huge machete and the hockey mask."

"I find slasher films a waste of time. They're predictable."

"Fair enough."

"So should I have the maids have the cabin cleaned or not?"

"Yes. Why not, it's an adventure. It'll be fun."

"Well, seeing as I'm not much of an asset to your unpacking, I'll leave you to your things." He kissed her lightly on the lips before leaving her room in silence.

The next month couldn't pass any slower. The workload of the students at Domino High seemed to double, especially for the seniors. To the intense relief of the students, it was finally the Friday before spring break. The students could barely focus on their work. They frequently looked at the slowly ticking clock, each move of the hand bringing them close to a week's worth of freedom. Finally, the dismissal bell rang. The students cheered loudly and ran out of their classrooms like a herd of animals. Alissa gathered up her things as students rushed out of the classroom.

"Have a good break everyone. Stay safe!" the professor called after them.

"Bye Mr. Hoshi. Have a good break," Alissa said with a smile and a wave.

"Thank you. You too." She left the classroom and headed towards Seto's locker. She found him at his locker, loading the rest of his books into his bag.

"Hey. You ready for break?"

"I can't wait to get away from these idiots."

"Think of it this way, in precisely three more hours we'll be on a plane leaving all these idiots behind." He shut his locker and picked up his briefcase and swung his book bag over his shoulder.

"That's the best thing I've heard all day."

"Well then let's go Rich Boy."

Not much later, Seto and Alissa sat on his private jet. The setting sun made the sky look like a painting. Alissa looked at the window and peered at all the orange and purple colored clouds. Music pumped into her ears from her earphones that were plugged into her laptop. She glanced at Seto and took her earphones out.

"I'm so bored." His gaze stayed fixed on his laptop.

"Then find something to occupy yourself with."

"Play a game with me."

"I'm busy." She unbuckled her seat belt and walked down the aisle to his seat. "The seat belt sign is on. Sit down moron." She pushed the laptop screen closed in response.

"You'll work yourself to death. You're supposed to be on break."

"And I will be once I finish up this project. Now go back to your seat."

"I'm not sitting down until you agree to stop working so hard." He let out a sigh. There was no convincing her, he knew that by now.

"Fine. One game. But after that I'm finishing up this project."

"Deal." She grinned in triumph and sat in the seat across the aisle from him. "How about we play Duel Monsters? I know playing it without duel disks is a bit juvenile for you but old school can be fun." The couple sat and played for an hour or so. Soon, Seto had won.

"Looks like you win."

"That isn't much of a surprise." She grinned at his arrogance.

"You're modesty is compelling." He tossed her a cocky grin before reopening his laptop.

"Well as much as I enjoy your company, I have a lot of work to do and as I recall we had a deal."

"Okay. I'll let you get back to work. Thank you for playing a game with me."

"It was my pleasure. I always enjoy opportunities to prove I'm superior." She said nothing. She just smirked in amusement then walked back to her seat. She took her seat and put her earphones back into her ears. The sound of her music instantly calmed her. Soon, she was asleep.

"Alissa we landed." Alissa opened her eyes slowly and sat up. Seto stood next to her seat with his arms crossed. She stretched and pulled herself to her feet.

"Okay. Let me grab my things." She reached into the overhead bin and took out her two suitcases. After exiting the jet, the duo was driven to the hotel. Upon reaching their hotel, the couple was taken up t their room. Alissa couldn't help but smile when they reached the room. It was large and in very nice condition. Two queen-sized beds sat in the center of the room. A small kitchen with a sink sat close to the large bathroom. From the top floor of the sixteen-story building, their room provided a magnificent view of the bustling city.

"What do you think?" Seto asked, coming to stand behind her.

"The view is great. The room is beautiful I love it."

"Good. Well, it's currently ten in the morning. The show is at eight and dinner is at five thirty. That gives us seven and a half hours to kill." She turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"I brought Sudoku."

"I don't want to play Sudoku. I much rather do something else."

"You mean like Solitaire?"

"Solitaire is a game for lonely people."

"Then what-?" He didn't get a chance to finish. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

"You can be so dense sometimes Seto," she muttered before kissing him again. He found his hands moving down to the small of her back to pull her slender form closer. She moved her arms up to around his neck She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled his head closer. After several seconds, the two pulled away breathless. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and rested her head against his chest.

"You smell nice," she said softly. He pressed his lips lightly to the crown of her head.

"Let's watch some television." The two sat on one of the beds, simply enjoying one another's company. When five o' clock rolled along, they both got ready for dinner then headed out. Soon, it was the moment that Alissa had been waiting several years for. She was finally going to see Phantom of the Opera live. Their seats were in the front row, right below the chandelier. The joy in her eyes was present even after the show ended and she was wiping tears from under her eyes. When the couple was finally in the privacy of Seto's limo, Alissa inched closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you Seto. For everything."

"You're welcome."

The next morning, the couple awoke early. They checked out of the hotel and were on the road to Seto's cabin by eleven. Alissa stared out the window and grinned at all the scenery.

"It's so pretty here," she replied.

"That's why I bought a cabin up here. It isn't far from the city but it's still private." When the limo reached the cabin, her grin widened. The cabin was large. Trees surrounded the cabin and a small path lead deeper into the surrounding forest. She climbed out of the limo and walked around the front yard. She noticed a small path that led to a sparkling lake.

"This is beautiful Seto."

"I'm glad you find it to your liking since you'll be staying here for a week." After moving all her things inside, she rushed to the lake. A rope hung from a tree close to the lake. Without hesitation, she threw off her cover up and climbed onto the rope. She swung on it a few times before letting go and jumping feet first into the lake. She resurfaced and grinned at Seto who was sitting on the bank.

"Come in Mr. Sourpuss! The water is actually pretty warm."

"I'll stay right here."

"Oh come on have some fun!"

"I don't have fun."

"It's vacation! Live a little. You're too young to be as serious as you are. Come on, please! You don't have to come all the way in. Just stick your feet in."

"If I say yes will you stop harassing me?" She nodded with a smile. He rolled up his pants to the knee then entered the water. He stopped when the water reached just below his knee.

"See, it isn't that bad?"

"The water is a tolerable temperature." He sat on a rock that was sticking out of the water. She swam to him and came to sit on the rock with him. The two talked for hours and then just lay there in silence. By the time they left the lake, it was dark.

Two days later, Alissa woke with a bad headache. She let out a small groan and rolled onto her side. She pressed her palm to her head to try to massage away the pain. She sat up and let out another groan. The ceiling swayed and dipped above her, causing an unpleasant feeling to settle in the back of her throat. She quickly jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She had barely reached the toilet when she threw up the contents of her stomach. She coughed and retched, trying to catch her breath.

"Alissa are you okay?" Seto's voice came from the entrance to the bathroom. Before she could respond, the familiar nauseous feeling returned and she threw up again. Seto was by her side in an instant, holding her long hair back.

"Alissa what's wrong?" She coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I just feel a little sick. It's probably a little flu bug, it's no big deal." He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead with a frown.

"You're burning up. You should go back to bed."

"No. It's okay. We were supposed to go to the museum today. I'll be fine." She shakily got to her feet. Before she could start walking, dizziness took over again. She stumbled and fell against Seto's shoulder.

"No. I'm taking you back to bed. You need to rest." Before she could protest, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her room. He placed her under the covers and rested a hand on her cheek.

"I'm sorry. I know you wanted to go to the art museum."

"Sh. It's okay. We can go when you're better. We still have a few days left here. Just rest." He removed his hand from her cheek and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

When Alissa woke again, it was still light out. A cold sensation on her forehead had her moving her hands to her head. A wet washcloth was draped across her forehead. She sat up slowly. Her head still swam lightly. She pulled herself out of bed and exited her bedroom. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Seto sat at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of coffee with his laptop in front of him.

"Hey," she said quietly. He looked up upon hearing her voice.

"Hey. Are you feeling any better?"

"A bit. I wasn't asleep long was I?" He chuckled lightly.

"You slept the whole day actually."

"It's Wednesday?"

"Yes. Are you feeling well enough to go out today?"

"I don't know." He got up from his seat and pressed his hand to her forehead.

"You're still pretty warm. Maybe you just need some air. Why don't we walk down to the lake? Maybe a small soak will help you cool down." She nodded slowly and turned to exit the kitchen. Another dizzy spell struck her, causing her to lose her balance. She clutched onto the counter top to prevent herself from falling over.

"Alissa? Alissa what's wrong?" Seto's voice faded in and out. She quickly became confused as the room spun faster and faster. Soon, Seto was standing in front of her, his eyes wide with worry. His lips moved but she couldn't hear the words he was saying. His face swayed and dipped as her dizziness intensified even more. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell backwards. Her head hit the tile floor with a large crack. Seto was by her side in an instant. Her body began to seize and shake, drool dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were rolled so far back that the color was barely visible. He dragged her body into his arms to try and stop her seizing. Her body suddenly went still in his arms.

"Roland!" he yelled. "Somebody help!"

**And done! Finally! First off, I am so sorry for the late update. I started writing it last week but then I got busy with move in and then classes started. I survived my first week of college and now I'm back! I hope this chapter was worth the wait and I'm sorry that I left it on a cliffhanger. Since it's a three-day weekend, I plan on working on the next chapter tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have it up by Monday. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys! So this took me longer to write than I thought. I said I'd have it up by Monday but apparently I'm a liar. Anyway! Well, here we are. The twenty-eighth and final chapter of Take A Chance On Me. It's kind of hard to believe that I started this story in June. I'm excited to write the sequel, I have a lot planned and I think you guys will enjoy it. So I have two new obsessions…well one of them is kind of a regained obsession. Anyway! I have been listening to Civil War the musical and Bare the musical (technically it's a pop opera but who likes technicalities?) . I am in love. The music is GODLY! Holy hell I'm in tears every time I listen to these musicals. Anyway, I'm babbling now so without further ado, I give you the final chapter of Take A Chance On Me.**

The time waiting for the paramedics to arrive seemed to last for an eternity. Alissa was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking anytime soon. Once the paramedics finally arrived, they loaded Alissa into the ambulance quickly. Seto went to climb into the ambulance behind her but was stopped by one of the three EMTs.

"I'm sorry Sir but I can't let you get in." He tossed a glare at the EMT, his lip curling with an unfriendly growl.

"Why not?"

"She looks very ill. I'm sorry Sir but we can't have any distractions." Seto opened his mouth to protest but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. His glare shifted to Roland who now stood behind him, clasping his shoulder.

"Allow me to take you to the hospital Sir." Seto tossed a final glance at the ambulance that now held Alissa. He knew that resistance would only prolong the stay of the ambulance and right now that was something that Alissa couldn't deal with. She needed help now.

"Fine."

Seto rushed into the hospital with Roland close behind him. He came to a stop in front of the receptionist's desk.

"Alissa Todd. What room is she in?" The receptionist held up a thin finger and began typing on her keyboard.

"She's currently in ICU. Y-." She stopped when she saw Seto running down the hall. "Sir you can't go in there! She isn't ready for any visitors!" Seto ignored the receptionist and continued down the hall. He followed the directions on the walls down the hall until he reached the correct room.

"Master Kaiba!" Roland's voice made Seto stop. He turned over his shoulder with a frown.

"Stay out here Roland."

"Master Kaiba you should remain here."

"No. I need to see her."

"Seeing her now won't do you any good. We have to let the doctors do their job." _Maybe Roland is right. I need to let the doctors do their job. But so help me; if they screw up they'll lose more than just their jobs. I'll make sure of it._ He didn't say anything to Roland in response. He just brushed past him and took a seat in one of the chairs outside the room.

"She'll be okay Sir."

"Hmph. She better be." Seto rested his elbows on the armrests and linked his fingers in front of his mouth as his mind wandered. She had to make it through this. She was a challenge; in fact that was one of the things he loved most about her. He admired her strength and her determination. She never backed down from anything; he just hoped that this time wouldn't be any different.

xx

"_What are you doing?" Alissa looked up from her guitar and smirked._

_ "Playing guitar. I thought that much was obvious. Sit." She moved over and tapped the empty space on her bed. Seto sat next to her as she continued to pluck at the strings._

_ "How long have you been playing?" She stopped playing and placed a finger to her chin in thought._

_ "Since I was about seven I think. I could teach you if you want." Before he could come up with a response, she had removed the guitar from around her shoulder and held it out to him. He took the guitar from her grasp and put on the shoulder strap._

_ "Okay so you just place your fingers on the frets like this." She held onto his hands and guided his slim fingers to the neck of the guitar. She positioned his fingers on the right frets, leaving her fingers hovering over his._

_ "Now just strum the strings." He brought his other hand across the strings. The guitar created a clear sound. She continued to guide his fingers through each of the chords._

_ "Good. Now you try one." He placed his fingers on the frets that would produce a C cord and strummed. The sound came out clunky and uneven, making him wince. He removed the guitar and handed it back to her._

_ "Guitar isn't my thing."_

_ "Hm maybe you're right." She took her guitar back and placed it on the bed behind her. "You'd be good at piano." She took his hands in hers lightly. He quirked an eyebrow at her and she continued. "You have piano hands."_

_ "Piano hands?"_

_ "You know, long, thin fingers. Have you ever played piano?"_

_ "I used to."_

_ "Why'd you stop?" _

_ "I lost interest." _

_ "Maybe you could show me sometime." _

_ "Maybe." Her gaze locked with his. The couple stared at each other, seemingly suspended in time. She leaned forward and pressed a tentative kiss to his lips._

xx

The sound of a door opening pulled Seto out of his thoughts. A tall man stepped out of the ICU with a clipboard in hand. He caught sight of Seto and Roland sitting right outside the door.

"Are you here for Alissa Todd?" Seto shot to his feet.

"Yes. Is she alright?"

"I'm Dr. Kennedy." The doctor extended his hand towards Seto.

"Kaiba. Now let's skip the pleasantries and get down to business. What's wrong with her?"

"We're putting her through testing now. But if you have information that might aid us in figuring out what's wrong with her, let us know." Seto frowned.

"I explained everything to the dispatchers. Do you not communicate with them?"

"To save time would you mind reiterating to me what you told them?"

"She was sick yesterday and she was complaining of a stiff neck the night before."

"What were her symptoms yesterday?"

"Headache, nausea, and she threw up a few times." Dr. Kennedy scribbled everything down on his clipboard.

"Was she exposed to anything that could have made her ill? Was she around someone who was ill? Does she have any allergies?"

"Not that I know of. We had only been here for a couple days. We got here Saturday. We went to see a show that night. We went to my cabin the next day and spent the day at the lake."

"Thank you Mr. Kaiba. We'll do all we can."

"You'd better."

xx

_ Seto and Alissa lay on the soft, green grass outside the Kaiba mansion. The mid March air was cool and crisp. The stars were bright and twinkling above them._

_ "Okay smart ass, what's that one?" she asked, pointing to another star formation._

_ "That one's easy. That one is Vela. It represents the sail of the Argo Navis constellation."_

_ "Thanks for the astronomy lesson." She turned on her side so she could face him. "Can I read your palm?" He looked at her, his face blank._

_ "Why?"_

_ "It'll be fun. Come on, please?"_

_ "You really want to engage in such childish activities? You realize all that stuff about fate is fake don't you?" She grinned at him, giving him his answer. He sat up and she followed with a large grin._

_ "Hand." He held out his right hand to her. She quickly slapped it away. "No idiot, I need your left hand." He wanted to tell her how ridiculous she was acting but he held his tongue and held out his left hand to her. She took his hand in hers and brought his hand closer to her face. The close contact to her warm skin sent the all too familiar tingle across his skin._

_ "This line right here," she paused to run a finger along one of the lines of his palm. "This is your life line. Yours is pretty long so you'll live to be an old fart. Congratulations." She paused to look up at him, her grin widening when she caught sight of her frown. She brought her gaze back down to his palm and traced another line._

_ "This is your fortune line. It's very long so you'll be rich." She grinned up at him. "Well richer. This one here is your head line. It's very long and straight, which shows you have a logical and direct way of thinking. It looks like it might even be a double line too, which means you have strong mental abilities. The last line is your heart line. It's pretty short, which shows that you are usually uninterested in the affairs of love. However, the line is pretty deep which means that for those you do love, your affections are very stable." She released his hand and looked up at him._

_ "Thanks for sharing that mystic mumbo jumbo."_

_ "Glad to be of service," she said with a flourish and bowing her head. She looked up at the sky just in time to see a bright light flash across the dark night._

_ "Make a wish!" she said happily, shutting her eyes tight._

_ "I have all that I need." He gripped her hand and she opened her eyes to stare at him. She smiled before inching closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. The two watched the night sky as the stars fell in a show of lights._

xx

A whole day had passed since Seto last talked to the doctor. The day before, Alissa had undergone multiple tests, making it impossible for Seto to see her. With every moment that passed, he feared the worst. The stress was starting to get to him. The little amount of sleep he'd gotten over the past couple nights was souring his mood more than usual. He scanned the hospital with a cold and calculating gaze. The smell of disinfectant was starting to give him a headache.

"Mr. Kaiba." Seto tore his gaze away from the wall to meet the gaze of Dr. Kennedy. Seto got to his feet quickly.

"How is she? Did you figure out what's wrong with her?"

"We tested some of her cerebrospinal fluid and found the presence of Naegleria fowleri which causes Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis. She most likely contracted it swimming in that lake." A large lump settled in Seto's throat. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that didn't sound good.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"We have her on several anti-fungal and antibiotics as well as an experimental drug called Miltefosine."

"Is she going to be okay?" he repeated.

"She isn't out of the woods yet but we managed to bring her temperature back to normal. She's very lucky. Another day and she could've been dead."

"Can I see her?"

"You can go sit in with her but it would be best to let her rest. She suffered some head trauma from when she collapsed so she needs her rest." Seto didn't wait another second. He walked into her room and stopped in the doorway. Her skin was still flushed and bandages were wrapped around her head but she looked to be doing a lot better. He pulled a chair up next to her bed and took her hand in his. He held her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She was a fighter. She was going to be okay.

xx

_ "Dude is that jello?" The sound of Alissa's voice had Seto lifting his head from his pillow. It was day three of him being in the hospital after their encounter with Tony and of course, Alissa was making a fool of herself. He looked at the full cup in front of him._

_ "Yeah."_

_ "Jeez, I swear. You hospital patients have it good! You get jello and what do we healthy people get? Long lines for pizza in the cafeteria!"_

_ "Do you want it?"_

_ "Bitchin'!" She grabbed the jello from in front of him and took a large bite. "Thanks." He rolled his eyes with a smirk._

_ "Sometimes I think that Wheeler's obnoxious behavior is rubbing off on you."_

_ "I'm going to let that mean remark slide cause you're in the hospital," she said through a mouthful of jello while waving her spoon at him._

_ "I'm terrified." She smirked at his sarcastic remark._

_ "You should be you punk." She took a final bite of jello then put the empty container on the table next to his bed. "Hey didn't you say you'd teach me how to play chess?"_

xx

The sensation of someone squeezing his hand brought Seto back to reality. He looked at Alissa as her eyes fluttered then slowly opened.

"Alissa, I'm so glad you're okay." The sound of her screaming made him release her hand suddenly.

"Alissa, what is it? What's wrong?" She looked at him for a moment, confusion in her eyes.

"Who's Alissa?"

**End of Book 1**

**And that my friends is the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I apologize again for the wait. College got me busy. Anyway, I will start the first chapter of the sequel tomorrow and I will post on this story when I post the first chapter. Other than going through and editing all the stuff that needs editing, this story is over. I hope you all enjoyed and I thank you for all the reviews and what not. Your reviews really keep me motivated. Well, until the next book, peace out girl scouts!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hey guys, just letting you guys know that the first chapter of the sequel Don't Forget has finally been posted. Go check it out! **

**xoxo-FutureStar27**


End file.
